Light On My Shoulder
by nathanlove23
Summary: Based off of episode 2.20 where Nathan dreams what life would be liked if Dan had chosen Karen instead of Deb. Nathan is in love with best friend Haley James, but she doesn't know it. NALEY.
1. Take My Breath Away

"Haley, stop stealing my french fries!" He yelled, only half pissed off. It was hard for him to be angry at her, she looked so damn cute when she ate.

"Hey, I can't help that you eat slow. Come on, you're a guy, your food is supposed to be gone seconds after it is set in front of you," she retorted between bites.

"Excuse me for trying to have a conversation with my best friend!" Nathan replied with a smile.

"Aww, I'm sorry," Haley said, "Here, you can have the rest of my milkshake. You know how I'm a softie for pathetic people." She laughed, lighting her whole face up, and leaned down to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm just kidding, you know I love you. And I swear, you're only kind of pathetic."

"Thanks Hales, I really appreciate that" Nathan said with a laugh. But the real reason for the smile on his face went beyond his best friend's attempt to be funny.

"Well I have to run, I have a tutoring session. Enjoy the rest of your fry-less dinner!" She said as she walked out the door laughing.

The sound of her laugh sounded so beautiful to Nathan, making his heart jump.

Haley James had been Nathan Scott's best friend since they could talk. Their mother's were best friends who were connected by living a life of single parenthood. Nathan's mom owned a café and ever since Haley was little she had dinner there almost every night since her mom was constantly working. Haley and Nathan naturally became best friends as kids due to their mother's relationship, but at some point, at least for Nathan it became something more than that.

"You know Nate, someday you have to tell her" She said as wiped down the table Nathan was sitting at.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Nathan denied as he felt his cheeks burning.

"You have loved Haley for a long time; I can see it when you look at her. In fact, I think everyone can see it _but_ Haley" Deb said with a little laugh, smiling at her son knowingly.

"Or maybe she's avoiding it because she is not interested" Nathan said irritably.

"You're wrong son. She may not realize it, but she loves you just as much as you love her. Just think about telling her, okay?"

"Maybe," he replied, feeling defeated.

* * *

"Hey tutor bitch!" Brooke screamed with fake excitement. 

"Good morning to you too slut," Haley said sarcastically.

"Whatever just explain this freaking geometry to me. I don't want to be seen with you any longer than I have to." She huffed.

"Sounds fine to me. Okay, well to find the degree of the unknown in a trapezoid you have to know the formula…" Haley began to explain.

"Hey boyfriend!" Brooke said, jumping out of her seat into Lucas Scott's arms.

"Hey pretty girl. You done here?" Lucas said, nodding towards the tutor.

"Sure, I've learned enough for one day! See you Kaleigh." Brooke replied before she started heavily making out with her boyfriend.

"It's Haley." She huffed.

"Rough day?"

"You have no idea, and school hasn't even started! I hate cheerleaders and their stupid jock boyfriends!" Haley said out of frustration as her best friend put his arm around her in an attempt to calm her down.

"At least you aren't related to one of those stupid jocks" Nathan said with disgust.

"Sometimes it's hard for me to remember that you two are brothers," Haley said as she watched Nathan flinch at the word, "You are absolutely nothing like Lucas." Haley said, glaring at Lucas who was still nearby.

"Wow that may be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." Nathan replied with sincerity.

"Come on, let's just get to class, I don't want to think about them."

Haley grabbed Nathan's hand and began to pull him down the hall, not realizing the sensation she was sending through Nathan's body.


	2. Over My Head

The room that had been filled with cheers of excitement seconds earlier fell silent as he fell to the floor.

"Someone call an ambulance! He's not breathing." A voice from the floor shrieked.

"Wake up boyfriend" the brunette said between sobs as she pressed her head to his not beating heart.

* * *

"Lucas do you have any family history of heart conditions?" The doctor asked kindly at the heartbroken basketball star. 

It was the question he had feared since he regained consciousness. He knew what his passing out had to mean. With a deep breath, Lucas replied.

"My father has HCM."

The smile faded from the doctor's face as she immediately told Lucas they needed to run tests.

"This could be the end of basketball. This could be the end of life as I know it," Lucas whispered to himself.

* * *

Things changed rapidly for the Tree Hill Ravens. They no longer had their star shooting guard, because of a heart condition that forbid him from playing the game any longer. If Coach Durham wanted any chance at taking his team to the State Championship, he was going to have to do better than replacing Lucas with a second stringer. 

"He's good, ain't he Whitey?" Keith asked looking proudly out from the car at his nephew.

"Maybe," Whitey said hesitantly, "But there's no way I can put him on my team."

"Nathan could bring that team of yours to State. He's got passion beyond Lucas'."

The two men sat in silence as Whitey continued to evaluate the basketball player's skills. He could not help but be impressed when he saw the other Scott brother make a half court shot with ease.

"I can't deny that he's good" Whitey replied with thought, "But I don't think he'll want to join the team. Those two boys hate each other."

"Coach, he loves the game. I'll admit, it might be a tough sell. But that boy out there deserves to be noticed for his talent."

Whitey simply nodded, considering the consequences of the decision he was on the verge of making.

* * *

Nathan walked through the hallways not paying attention to the people around him. His thoughts were clouded with what he just heard. 

"Watch where you're going!" A girl Nathan had just collided with snapped.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying…Haley!" Nathan said, his face brightening.

"Jeez Nathan, what's wrong with you? You were really out of it" Haley asked with genuine concern.

All of the concerns that filled Nathan's mind only seconds ago vanished. Haley and her beautiful face could make him forget anything, even something as confusing as this.

"Coach Durham wants to see me" Nathan said simply, bracing himself for Haley's reaction.

"Why would he want to see you?" Haley paused to think a moment. "Oh my gosh Nate! I bet he wants you to replace Lucas!"

Haley's last words confirmed his worst fears. There was no other reason Nathan could think of that the basketball coach would want to see him. "Ugh, why'd you have to say that?"

"Nathan, are you kidding me? That would be amazing news!" Haley said excitedly. "You deserve to be on that team. You're so good!"

Nathan couldn't help but laugh a little. Even if what Haley was saying was true, there was no way she would no if he was actually any good. "Hales, you always call a basket a touchdown. I don't think you exactly are the best judge of what makes a basketball player," Nathan said grinning at his best friend.

"Hey!" Haley said hitting Nathan playfully on the shoulder. "But even though I may not know the correct terms of basketball, I do know one thing. Basketball makes you happier than anything else in the world, and you deserve to have that."

His best friend was only partially right with her statement. Basketball did always manage to raise his spirits. But there was something that made him happier and he was talking to her.

"We don't even know if that's why he wants to talk to me."

"But if he does, promise me you'll at least really consider it." Haley said as she flashed Nathan her best pout.

"Promise," Nathan replied throwing his arm around his best friend's shoulders.

"That's all I ask" Haley said wrapping her arm around her best friend's waist, "Now let's get to class future basketball star."


	3. All Eyes on Me

Nerves running through every inch of his body, he softly tapped on the door and slowly turned the knob.

"Coach Durham?" Nathan asked politely.

"Well, well. Nathan Scott in my office, I never thought I'd see the day."

"Oh…uh yeah" Nathan said, not quite sure how to respond to that.

"So sit. We need to talk."

Hesitantly, Nathan lowered himself into the chair across from Whitey.

"Your Uncle Keith took me to see you play," Whitey began, "and I have to say, you've got talent. You have a ways to go before you're as polished as….well, you just have some work to do."

Nathan shuddered at Whitey's almost comparison to his brother.

"But I think you are what this team needs. You've got a love for this game I haven't seen in years, and I want you to be our new shooting guard."

"Uh, thanks for the offer Coach but…" Nathan began, pausing for a moment.

"But you don't want to be like Lucas," Whitey finished for him.

"Yeah, and you're right, I do love the game. And that's why I can't let it be ruined for me this way." Nathan said, trying to control the anger that was burning through his body.

"You know what your Uncle told me when he took me out to the rivercourt to see you? He said you deserved to be noticed for your talent, and he's right. You can't let it go to waste because you've got an ass of a father."

Immediately, Nathan's thoughts flashed to Haley. He thought of Haley standing in the hallway, looking so thrilled for him. It had taken all of his control not to lean down and kiss her at the moment. She had said almost the same thing. "Basketball makes you happier than anything else in the world, and you deserve to have that."

Sensing Nathan's doubts, he tried to convince him one last time. "Nathan, playing a game doesn't make you like them. If you go out on that court, it shows just how strong you are. But if you let your family drama get in the way then Dan Scott has won. And I don't think anyone wants that."

Nathan couldn't help but let a little smile escape. "Alright, I'll do it."

"Glad to hear it. Now get your ass to the weight room, you better be able to keep up with the rest of the team Monday!" Whitey said sternly.

"Yes sir" Nathan replied, wondering what he just got himself into.

* * *

"Damn it! You've got to be freaking joking!" Lucas said with obvious aggravation. 

"I wish I was babe…but they had to replace you with somebody." Brooke said, lovingly stroking his chest.

"But him?! How could Whitey do this to me?" Lucas yelled.

"I know you're going to miss the game. I wish I could fix what's happening to you." She said placing kisses on his neck.

"Hell yeah, I'm going to miss it. God Brooke, you can be so stupid."

"Luke, I'm just trying to help…" Brooke responded in a soft whimper.

"Well you can't! Basketball is my life, it's the only thing I have!" Lucas said, now screaming at the top of his lungs.

"You have me…" Brooke whispered, not sure if she wanted to be heard.

"Not anymore, we're done!"

"You don't mean that Lucas, you're just upset" Brooke said her voice almost pleading now.

"I have enough crap in my life without having to deal with all your petty problems on top of it." He said, his words burning a hole through Brooke Davis' heart.

"Fine!" Brooke said as she hurriedly gathered her things, "It's just a game Lucas, it's not life." She said bitterly as she walked out and slammed the door.

* * *

Nathan hadn't seen Haley all day since their talk in the hallway. Usually he drove Haley home after school, but his talk with Whitey went longer than he expected. He held out hope though that Haley would show up for dinner at the café. 

"Hey stranger" a voice said behind the table Nathan was occupying.

"Hales!" Nathan greeted her excitedly, "Did you get home alright? I'm really sorry about that by the way."

"Actually yeah," she paused to steal a French fry off of Nathan's plate, making him beam, "Brooke Davis gave me a ride home."

"What?" Nathan exclaimed, so shocked he almost chocked on his water.

"I know, but she was actually really nice to me. She wanted to talk to me anyways, so she offered to give me a ride when she saw me looking for you."

"What'd she want to talk to you about?" Nathan asked still confused. "Did she need help with her homework?"

"No, she wanted to talk about you. Lucas broke up with her today after he heard about you getting his spot on the team. Brooke wanted to warn me to watch out for him. You know," Haley said stealing another fry "Brooke isn't the filthy whore I thought she was. She actually has a heart."

Before continuing the conversation, Nathan paused to let his worries disappear for a moment. He was so easily mesmerized by his best friend, she was so gorgeous. Every little thing she did just made him fall more in love with her. The way she dabbed her face with her napkin between every bite was just so adorable.

"Hello? Earth to Nathan! Why are you looking at me like that? Haley asked confused.

"Oh, I was just thinking. Do you think I made a bad choice, joining the team?" Nathan quickly asked, trying to save himself from embarrassment.

"Are you kidding me? I'm so proud of you!" Haley smiled; reaching her hand for Nathan's and twirled her thumb around his skin lovingly.

"What would I do without you as my best friend?"

"You wouldn't live. Or you'd just get really fat because you'd have no one to steal your French fries." Haley explained with a laugh.


	4. Stab My Back

He saw her from down the hallway, her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, frantically searching through her locker for something.

"Can't find something huh?"

Haley stuck her head out of her locker to snap at whoever was talking to her. Obviously she was looking for something; she was surrounded by a pool of papers at her feet as she emptied her entire locker looking for her English paper. But she forgot her snide comment when she looked up at the guy leaning against the locker next to hers: Lucas Scott.

Even Haley couldn't deny it, he was gorgeous. His muscles were bulging through his shirt, begging to be seen. Haley's eyes gazed up into his, taken aback by their beauty. Suddenly, she snapped back into reality, remembering that this guy was her best friend's mortal enemy.

"Why do you care?" Haley asked, finally managing the nerve to respond.

"Wow, release the claws there tiger. I was just trying to be friendly." Lucas replied.

Haley couldn't help but let a little laugh out at that. She immediately regretted it though when she saw Lucas looked a little annoyed. "Maybe he was being sincere," she thought.

"Sorry. Actually, would you mind helping me pick up these papers?" Haley asked in an attempt to admit surrender.

"Not at all," Lucas said, bending down to begin gathering the papers.

Lucas remained crouched, picking up the final papers, when he seemed to lose his balance. In an attempt to catch his balance, he threw his arm around Haley.

"What the hell are you doing? Get your hands off her jackass!" A voice bellowed.

"Sorry, little brother," Lucas said with a laugh, loving to watch Nathan squirm at the word, "I didn't know she was your property."

"She's not," Nathan replied angrily, "But she's my best friend, and you need to get the hell away from her."

"Nathan he was just trying to help me" Haley interjected.

"Yeah? By groping you?" Nathan asked fuming, his face inches away from Lucas'.

"Whatever man," Lucas said, pushing Nathan a little.

Just as Nathan was about to react, and kick the crap out of Lucas, he felt Haley's arm lying protectively on his chest.

"Please Nate, just let it go" she said.

"Yeah Natey, just let it go," Lucas taunted. "Well Haley, maybe we can continue this a little later, when Nathan's not in our way," Lucas said with a wink, laughing as Nathan's face turned an even deeper shade of red.

When Lucas was out of view, Haley let go of Nathan's body, only to punch him in the arm.

"What was that for? I just saved you!" Nathan said, shocked.

"God Nathan! I didn't need saving, I can take care of myself. Besides, he was trying to help me, and he lost his balance, that's all," Haley said forcefully.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know my best friend was such a traitor that she'd enjoy being felt up by Lucas Scott!" Nathan responded, jealously boiling in his body.

"Forgive me for giving someone a chance. You don't know him Nathan and neither do I," Haley began, slamming her locker shut. "Maybe he's not the guy you always thought he was," Haley said quietly, still amazed by Lucas' act of kindness herself.

"I don't trust him Hales. Especially not with you," Nathan said, his cheeks turning rosy.

"Well fortunately for me, you don't decide who is and isn't my friend. So next time you're overcome with some strange need to protect me, just don't!" Haley yelled, walking away, leaving Nathan stunned by her hurtful words.

* * *

"Yo Lucas dawg, my man, my homeslice!" Tim said, greeting his friend. 

"Just say hey Tim," Lucas replied annoyed.

"Sure Luke. So I saw you with that tutor chick in the hall today. Ran out of hot chicks to bang?"

"She's Nathan's friend," Lucas replied, trying to help Tim connect the dots.

"Exactly what I'm saying! Talk about low class!"

"I'm screwing with Nathan dumb ass. He took my life, so I thought I'd repay the favor," Lucas gritted through his teeth.

"So you're just going to date the lame ass girls now since that's all he got?" Tim asked, still confused.

"Sure Tim, that's what I'm doing," Lucas replied, to frustrated to explain what he actually was doing.

Besides, Lucas could see the lust in Haley James' eyes the moment he offered to help. She wanted him bad. It was all too perfect.

* * *

When she heard the familiar rumble at the door, she seriously considered not answering. She knew perfectly well who would be standing behind the door. 

Hesitating, Haley opened the front door to reveal who she had been expecting.

"Hales," He looked up at her with pleading eyes.

"I have every right to slam this door in your face Nathan Scott."

"I don't trust him Haley. I don't want him around people I care about. I have the right to care about you, don't I?" Nathan asked, looking up at her eyes for conformation.

"Of course, you're my best friend. And I love you." Haley paused, confused as she watched Nathan twitch at her last words. "But years of putting up with you have taught me how to take care of myself," Haley continued, winking at her best friend.

"I just don't like the idea of you hanging around him. Sorry if that makes me an overprotective ass, but it's the truth. What if he did something to hurt you?" Nathan asked, trying to persuade Haley to see his side.

"He was helping me Nathan! He lost his balance, and all you saw was him trying to regain his balance. It's not like we had sex in the janitor's closet!"

"I know, but there was just something that didn't seem right about it to me," Nathan said, remembering Lucas' mischievous grin.

"You were probably just seeing what you wanted to see. But let's just forget it okay? It's not like Lucas Scott is ever going to talk to me again, so the point is kind of moot."

"I guess." Nathan slowly replied. "But I still think you should stay away from him."

"I'm not going to agree to that Nathan. He didn't seem like that bad of a guy to me, in fact he seemed kind of sweet."

Haley watched as all of Nathan's features hardened, his face growing pale in a matter of milliseconds. He saw right through her.

Nathan could feel his muscles tightening at Haley's last statement. He knew his best friend well enough to know that her encounter with Lucas had been much more than she tried to make it seem.


	5. Dance With the Devil

Haley hadn't spoken to Nathan in three days; their longest argument to date. But there wasn't much competition, the usually only fought about trivial things like what movie to see. This was their first real fight. And Haley hated every moment of it.

For the first time in years, Haley had dinner alone. She resorted to a frozen pizza. It hardly compared to Deb's cooking, but Haley refused to be the one to make the first move. Nathan was in the wrong, he would come groveling eventually, begging for forgiveness. Wouldn't he?

As Haley settled on the floor with her dinner, turning the news on, the phone rang.

"Yes! Now I can throw away this crap, and go eat some real food at Deb's," Haley thought excitedly to herself, assuming the call was from an apologetic Nathan.

"Hello? Is this Haley James?" An unfamiliar voice asked.

Haley let out a sigh, disappointed by the voice on the other end. "Yes, this is," Haley replied, trying to figure out who else would be calling her.

"It's Lucas. You know the guy who groped you in the hall today?"

"Oh you, yeah I think I remember" Haley flirted.

"Well I thought it'd be nice if we could continue what we started today in the hallway," Lucas began. After a moment of a silence, he added, "Not the groping bit. But the talking."

Relieved, Haley replied. "I'd love that. Maybe even a little of both," Haley added huskily.

"Whatever you say baby. I'll pick you up at 8."

Haley hung up the phone, shocked by her response to the call. As soon as she discovered it was Lucas on the other end, Haley was overcome with the desire to piss Nathan off. She did her best to imitate the bimbos she'd seen at school by flirting shamelessly with Lucas.

There was a little less than an hour till her date with Lucas. In that time, Haley was determined to find the sluttiest outfit she had in her closet and wear it out.

* * *

As Lucas walked up to Haley's door, he thought back to their earlier phone conversation. It was almost too easy, he thought. Nathan must have really done something to piss the girl off, making his job a piece of cake. 

When he rang the doorbell, he was greeted by a girl who looked nothing like the Haley he had ignored for years. She was wearing a slinky halter top, that barely held in her breasts. The top was accompanied with a jean skirt, one that she must have bought before growing several inches, because it didn't leave much to the imagination. This is not what Lucas had expected when he schemed to go after Haley James. He never imagined she'd be throwing herself at him before they even spent one night together.

"Let's go hot stuff," Haley said, walking in front of Lucas, making sure he got a nice view of her ass.

Lucas gladly obliged, already picturing what it was going to be like to take that skirt off later in the night.

* * *

Nathan had never felt worse in his life. He didn't know that three days could feel so freaking long. He missed his best friend. 

After a lonely dinner, Nathan finally decided it was time to admit he was wrong. He hurriedly dialed Haley's number; he couldn't wait to see her again. But to his disappointment, there was no answer.

Letting out a long sigh, Nathan yelled to his mom he was going on a walk, hoping he would run into Haley along the way.

* * *

Haley felt so uncomfortable in the outfit she had chosen for her date with Lucas. She had a desperate urge to keep pulling down the clothes to cover her body, but resisted. As far as she could tell, Lucas was extremely pleased with her choice of clothing, which was her goal, so she figured it was worth it. 

After getting ice cream, the two began strolling along the river. Haley had to admit, the conversation was extremely dull. It seemed as though Lucas had nothing to say unless it concerned basketball.

The weather was another check on the con list. The mixture of the cold ice cream and the wind blowing across the water had caused Haley to have shivers all over her body. "Nathan would have offered his jacket to me a long time ago," Haley thought.

* * *

Nathan found himself at the river walk. He shoved his hands in his pockets as a chill sensation went through his body. "Jesus it's cold," Nathan muttered under his breath, "I hope Haley's got a jacket, wherever she is." 

As he continued to walk along the water, Nathan spotted a couple several feet ahead of him. The girl was hardly dressed according to the weather, her clothes barely covered anything. Nathan watched as the tall guy, an obvious jock, continually reaching for the girl's ass. When his hand would make contact, the girl would react by taking the hand off of her. This circle continued several times before they stopped walking, the girl obviously about to tell that jackass off.

As the girl turned, Nathan finally got a good look at her. He knew her: that honey blonde hair, the little brown freckle on her neck, it was Haley.

* * *

"Lucas, would you mind stopping that?" Haley asked, removing Lucas's hand from her butt for the fifth time. 

"Mmm, you want to wait till we get somewhere more private huh babe?" Lucas whispered in her ear.

"No!" Haley yelled, louder than she meant to. "Sorry, let's just go slow," Haley said, recovering.

"Slow I got it." Lucas said as he began to slowly grind his body against her.

"Get off of me! That's not what I meant! Please, get off of me!" Haley screamed softly, afraid to make a big scene.

Suddenly, Haley and Lucas' bodies broke apart. Someone must have heard Haley's cries because someone was doing a damn good job of kicking Lucas' ass.

"You're a pitiful piece of shit!" The heroic man roared, as he continued to throw severe punches in Lucas' face.

Haley instantly recognized the voice. "Nathan!" she shouted, as she watched the two brothers continuing their first fight.

Though a minute ago, Nathan had clearly been winning the battle, Lucas was regaining strength. He threw a brutal punch at Nathan's left eye.

"Oh my god, Nathan," Haley cried. Frantically, Haley tugged at her best friends arm, trying to save him from any further damage.

"Let me finish Hales," Nathan growled. With that, Nathan hit Lucas one more time, with all of the force he had left in him, leaving Lucas on the ground groaning in pain.

The bruised Nathan stood up, and cupped Haley's face in his hands. "Are you alright?" Nathan asked concerned.

Haley simply nodded her head, too shaken up to say anything. Tears began to stream down her face.

Nathan removed one of his hands from Haley's face, and gently wiped away her tears. "Let's get you out of here," Nathan said, wrapping his arm protectively around Haley.


	6. Looking As You Are

Nathan's arm remained around Haley their entire walk home, his hand gently stroking her arm. Neither of them said a word until they arrived at Haley's front door.

"Will you be okay?" Nathan asked, releasing his best friend from his protective grasp.

Haley bit down her lip, embarrassed. She had brought the events of the night upon herself, but she was still a little shaken up. "Um, could you stay the night? Like we used to?" Haley asked, looking at the ground, feeling childish for needing Nathan so much.

"Of course Hales," Nathan said, kissing Haley lovingly on the forehead.

* * *

Haley was relieved to be in pajamas that covered every inch of her body. She didn't know an outfit could make someone feel so safe or…unsafe.

Haley returned to her bedroom to find Nathan setting up a sleeping bag on the floor next to her bed.

"Nate, what are you doing?" Haley asked, pointing to the sleeping bag.

"Uh, I thought we were getting ready for bed," Nathan replied, confused.

"Well yeah. But what are you doing with a sleeping bag? We both easily fit in my bed." Haley pointed out innocently.

"Hales, we're not 10 anymore, it's not the same as it used to be. I'm not sure our moms would find up sleeping together so cute anymore." Nathan explained in an attempt to hide the real reason he felt the need to sleep on the floor.

"Come on, don't be so uptight. You're my best friend, it's not like we'd ever do anything together besides sleep."

"Alright," Nathan said hesitantly, helping Haley remove the covers from the bed.

* * *

Nathan was unable to get to sleep, his mind overcrowded with thoughts. He watched her as she fell into a deep sleep, her back facing him. Unknowingly, Haley turned in the bed to face Nathan. Even in her sleep, Nathan was entranced by her. She looked so beautiful and innocent when she slept.

Nathan felt his body began to shake with fury as he thought of that last word, "innocence." Lucas was doing everything in his power to change that on their date. But even Nathan had to admit, Haley was making that a hell of a lot easier for him. Though he was concerned for his best friend, Nathan also had an urge to really yell at Haley for being so careless. He decided it was an argument that would be better saved for later. At that moment, seeing Haley, the girl he was so in love with, so close to being hurt, his main concern was just how she was doing. She didn't need a guilt trip, at least not right away.

Finally, his mind and body exhausted, Nathan fell asleep.

* * *

The sun creeping through the window the next morning woke up Haley. As she was about to turn over onto her back, she realized she couldn't. She looked to see that the arm that restrained her was Nathan's. A smile snuck onto Haley's face at the sight of Nathan's arm around her stomach. Gently, she lifted the arm so that she could get out of bed. Despite her effort to make minimal movement, Nathan woke up too.

"Hey," Nathan greeted Haley with a yawn.

"Go back to sleep" Haley ordered.

"No I'm up, it's fine," Nathan replied, slowly getting out of bed.

"I was going to go make you a nice breakfast in bed for being my knight in shining armor last night, but I guess if you're going to get up you can help me cook" Haley said, knowing perfectly well that the possibility of cooking would be more than enough to get Nathan to stay in bed.

"And now I'm going back to sleep," Nathan laughed, gladly laying his head back down on the pillow that smelled exactly like Haley.

"That's what I thought" Haley said, but Nathan didn't hear because he was already back in a deep sleep.

* * *

When Nathan woke up again, he could hear the sounds of sizzling bacon down the hall. But all Nathan wanted to do was fall back to sleep, because he knew he had to talk to Haley about the previous night, before he lost his nerve.

While he waited for Haley to return with breakfast, Nathan ran through how he imagined the conversation would go in his mind. Haley was not going to like what he had to say, and he was not going to enjoy saying it to her. But he at least felt confident about his need to comment on what happened, at least until she walked into the room.

She looked stunning. She didn't have any makeup on, but her face just had a glow about it. Her hair was a mess; there was more hair out of her ponytail than there was in it. But still, Nathan never thought she had looked prettier. He desperately wanted to reach out and wrap one of the loose hairs around his finger. He just wanted to be near her. Haley's musical voice brought him back to reality.

"Breakfast! I hope everything turned out okay, I followed the instructions your Mom gave me a while back."

He simply nodded, not wanting to say something dumb and ruin the moment.

The silence continued throughout breakfast. It wasn't necessarily an awkward silence, but there was definite tension in the room. And not the kind of tension in the room Nathan would have liked.

Finally, Nathan got up the nerve to say something. He could do this, he would forgive her eventually. "It's really good Haley."

"Damn it," he thought to himself. "Be a freaking man and say it already!"

Taking a deep breath, Nathan spoke again. "I think we need to talk about last night."

The glow on Haley's fast quickly faded. "No. We are not talking about that now or ever," Haley said firmly.

"I know you don't want to. And to be honest, I'd rather not either. But we're going to."

Haley didn't respond, she just stared at her plate and played with her food.

"Why did you even agree to go out with Lucas? That alone is enough for your sanity to be in question! But then you wear practically _nothing_ on your date with a guy who is notorious for getting in girls' pants?" Nathan growled.

Haley glared up at Nathan, her eyes filled with fury, but she still said nothing.

"What if I hadn't happened to be there Haley? Who knows what he would have done to you!" Nathan stopped, shuddering at the most realistic possibility. "You could have been hurt Haley," he whispered.

"You think I don't know that?" Haley screamed, sobbing. "I know what would have happened Nathan, I know perfectly well! And I also know it would have been all my fault!" Haley curled into a ball on her bedroom floor trying desperately to muffle her loud cries.

Nathan rolled off the bed and kneeled next to the hysterical Haley. He tenderly rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her down. "Hales, it's okay, I'm here." But his words did nothing for her, she only cried harder.

He sat with her for a long time, rubbing her back as she cried. But the tears never ceased and they showed no sign of stopping anytime soon. He lowered his arms, and picked up Haley's limp body. She threw her arms around his neck and cried into his shirt. Nathan placed a kiss on the top of her head as he led them to Haley's living room.

Nathan lowered Haley's body to place her on the couch, but she refused to release her grip from Nathan's neck.

"Please," Haley managed to say in between tears, "I want to stay like this."

Nathan nodded, as he ran his fingers through Haley's hair, Haley's tears slowly softening.


	7. Out of the Blue

Nathan continued to stroke Haley's head, as she cried a last few tears.

"Hales?" He asked sweetly, his hand now resting on her back.

Haley simply looked up at him as a way to confirm she had heard him. Nathan assumed she was afraid speaking would bring on a whole new wave of tears.

"I love you."

* * *

Haley's mind was vacant. She knew by the tone of his voice when he said those three words, he didn't mean it the same way anymore. She couldn't think of how to respond. She couldn't even conjure up an "oh."

"Hales, please say something," Nathan begged.

All Haley could manage to say was "mmm."

"I'm going to need a bit more than "mmm" Hales," Nathan said, forcing an awkward laugh.

"You love me," Haley repeated, dumbfounded. She released herself from Nathan's caring grip, and inched away from him on the couch.

"I didn't mean to spring it on you like that. But just sitting here while you cry into my shoulder, watching you in so much pain, it's just been killing me. I can't stand to see you so…broken. I'm here for you Haley, I need you to know that. You're my best friend and I love you, you know that. But somewhere along the road, I fell in love with you too."

"Wow," Haley breathed.

"Nothing has to change. We can still be best friends, just the way it's always been. I'll be fine with that. I just want you to be happy; you deserve to be happy Hales. But I just needed you to know, that if by some crazy chance you felt the same way about me, I could be there for you in a whole other way." Nathan said, releasing a long sigh.

"Nathan," Haley began, but she couldn't finish because her emotions overtook her. Tears started streaming down her face, within seconds she was sobbing.

"Hales, please don't cry!" Nathan exclaimed, getting up from his position on the couch to kneel by where Haley sat. "I didn't mean to upset you. Please Haley, don't cry, there's nothing to cry about. I don't need you to feel the same way, as long as you're my best friend, that's all I need," Nathan said, wiping her tears away.

"I need you to leave," Haley said, pushing Nathan away from her.

Nathan backed away, his eyes filled with hurt. "Haley, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything, it just slipped," Nathan rambled.

"GO!" Haley bellowed, throwing a pillow at him, her sobs so loud the neighbors' dogs were barking as a result.

Nathan somberly walked himself to Haley's front door. "Bye Hales," he whispered to himself.

* * *

Nathan drowned his sorrows by avoiding them. He just sat in front of the television, mindlessly flipping through the channels, eventually falling asleep to an old western movie.

What must have been several hours later, Nathan woke up to a knock at his door.

As he walked to the door, Nathan rubbed his eyes, trying to get used to the light. When he opened the door, he was stunned to see Haley standing there, soaking wet from the rain outside.

Even though some of the water on Haley's face was the rain's fault, it was obvious she hadn't stopped crying. Her eyes were red and swollen and hardly had any makeup remaining on her face. "Hi," she said, refusing to look him in the eye.

"Hi," was all Nathan could think of to say back.

They just stood there, neither of them moving for several minutes, both of them getting wet from the rain. "Uh, did you want to come in?" Nathan finally asked.

Nathan could easily see the panic in Haley's expression. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come here," Haley softly said, before beginning to quickly walk away.

For a minute, Nathan just watched her as her brisk walk grew into a slight jog. But then his heart started to scream at him to do something, anything. Nathan gladly obliged, closing the front door behind him.

"Haley!" She heard him scream, causing her to pick up her pace, even though she knew he'd catch up with her.

"Hales!" She heard Nathan yell faintly over the thunder rumbling above them.

Haley felt his arm grasp hers. "Stop," the drenched Nathan demand.

"Let go Nathan," Haley replied with a shaky voice.

"No. Not until you tell me why you came. You had a reason Haley, I know you."

"I can't do this with you Nathan! You are the only steady thing in my life. I can't be in love with you!" Haley screamed above the thunder. "What if I lost you?" Haley added in a soft whisper.

Haley stared intently at the sidewalk as she felt Nathan's hands cup her face and raise her face to look at his.

"I'm not going anywhere baby," Nathan said, strengthening his grip on her face.

Haley's eyes looked deep into Nathan's, positive he could see the terror in hers.

For a moment, they just stared into each others eyes, feeling so deeply connected. Then, Nathan suddenly brought Haley's towards his and their lips joined. The kiss was full of passion, Haley instantly allowing Nathan to explore her mouth, as his hand gently ran through her wet hair. Much to his displeasure, Nathan pulled away, not wanting to push Haley too far. He gently stroked her cheek, smiling at her gorgeous features. Being so close to her, he immediately noticed when concern began to creep into her eyes.

"Hales, are you okay?"

"I'm scared," she stated simply.

Nathan instinctively drew Haley into a hug, gently rubbing her back. "Me too," he admitted.

Haley loosened Nathan's grip around her enough so that she had access to his face. She put her arms around his neck and began to kiss him again, trying to forget the fear that consumed her at that moment.


	8. Somewhere in Between

Haley could barely wrap her mind around all of the weekend's events. Her mood had evolved from pissed beyond belief, to terrified, to thankful, to terrified again, and finally to complete happiness.

It felt like it had all been a dream. She still couldn't believe it. Nathan Scott, her best friend in the entire world, was not just her best friend anymore. He was her boyfriend. She just kept repeating the word in her head, unable to comprehend how so much had changed so fast. When Nathan's lips first touched hers, she knew instantly that she had been in love with Nathan for a long time. She was just too scared to admit it, afraid she would lose him forever. And a world without Nathan was not conceivable to Haley

Haley hadn't seen Nathan since they shared their first kiss in the rain. As much as she wanted to be with him like that again, Haley couldn't help but be a little relieved. They had been friends their entire lives, 17 years. How do you transition from something like that to dating? She was dreading school and the awkwardness that was sure to devour her day.

* * *

Nathan's normal morning routine of picking up Haley on the way to school didn't seem so standard today. While he had always looked forward to seeing Haley, he never had felt so anxious. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to act. Did he kiss her when she got in the car? Should he hold her hand? Was it still too early in the relationship for him to say "I love you" again?

He threw on the sweatshirt Haley had given him for his birthday and took a deep breath. It was going to be a long, weird day.

When Nathan arrived at Haley's, he decided against waiting in the car like he usually did. He jumped out of the car to go to Haley's front door, but she was already walking toward the car. Nathan felt his cheeks redden a little.

"Hi" Nathan said, at a loss for any other word.

"Hi" Haley replied, playing with her hands.

"Uh…here," Nathan said, gesturing toward the car door he opened for her.

"Oh…thank you," Haley said, still avoiding looking at Nathan directly.

The only sounds on the way to school were the radio and a few awkward coughs. After what felt like an eternity, Nathan pulled into a spot in the school parking lot.

As they walked toward school together, the tension between them was extremely clear. Haley's thoughts were filled with will he, won't he questions. She was desperately hoping he would reach for her hand. It was taking all of her personal strength to not make the first move herself.

Their hands accidentally collided once and Haley felt a chill through her body. Nathan must have felt it too, because seconds after he reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers. All of Haley's apprehensions slipped away with the simple touch. She looked up at Nathan, the first time actually making eye contact with him, and smiled. He beamed back at her, tightening his grip on her hand a little.

* * *

Haley kept drifting off into her own thoughts during her tutoring session. She replayed the moment when Nathan's hands cupped her face in the rain; he was so close that the water that dripped from his hair was falling onto her face. "I'm not going anywhere baby," he had said.

"Tutor girl?" Brooke asked, waving a hand in Haley's face to bring her back to reality. "Since when am I the one reminding _you_ to pay attention?"

"Sorry Brooke, I guess I'm just a little distracted today," Haley replied, unable to control the large grin that was appearing on her face.

Brooke studied Haley's features for a moment, until she exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! You got some!"

Haley's felt her face blush. "I did not get some!" Haley whispered.

"Then you're in love! Yes, that's it, you're in love!" Brooke squealed. "So who is Mr. tutor boy?"

Haley felt a little uncomfortable sharing such personal details with her. Her and Brooke had only recently became friends, it just seemed a little soon to be talking to her about something like this. Usually Haley would talk to Nathan about stuff like this, but that wasn't really an option this time, so Haley opted to confide in Brooke. "Nathan," Haley said glowing.

"I knew it! I knew you guys weren't just friends. A guy and a girl can't be just friends. But tutor girl, that's awesome!" Brooke replied genuinely.

"Thanks. It's just kind of in the awkward stages right now, you know? I'm not sure how I'm supposed to be acting. We skipped a big portion of the dating process; we jumped right to the love stage."

"I wish I could help. Though I may be an expert on boys, I am far from having any authority on love. But if you ever get to the broken heart part, I'm your girl." Brooke said sadly.

Haley reached her hand across the table to touch Brooke's. "You deserve better then him Brooke. He's an ass," Haley comforted her.

"Maybe. But sometimes Haley, he was such a different guy. I think I might have been in love with him. I may have hated the way he treated me sometimes, but I can't help but believe that somewhere he's got an amazing heart."

Haley scoffed at that idea. She never told Brooke what happened to her the other night, and she didn't plan to. Haley didn't want Brooke to hurt anymore; she figured it would be better to let Brooke believe that there was a possibility Lucas could be a better guy.

"Thanks for letting me vent a little Brooke. It helped. But we need to get back to this geometry; you have to pass this next test if you don't want to fail."

* * *

Nathan changed into fresh clothes after basketball practice. He was tying his shoes when Jake came up to him.

Jake Jagelski was the only member of the team that had dared to befriend him. All the other guys stayed loyal to Lucas. At first, it pissed Nathan off that they wouldn't even be civil to him, but he'd gotten over it. They were all just as big of assholes as Lucas anyways.

"Hey man, rough practice huh?" Jake asked, sitting on the bench next to Nathan's.

"Yeah, I guess Whitey's trying to get us into shape for the playoffs early this year," Nathan groaned.

"So I saw you with your friend today. Haley I think it is? What's going on there?" Jake questioned knowingly.

"I'm not exactly sure to be honest," Nathan laughed, "We're dating. Or boyfriend and girlfriend, I'm not really sure what the difference is. The whole thing is a bit overwhelming."

"You want to talk about?"

Jake was the nicest guy Nathan had ever met. With any other guy, Nathan would have just avoided the topic all together. He didn't want to seem like a sap when it came to girls, even if he was. But Nathan knew Jake actually was willing to listen when Nathan needed to talk.

"I told her I loved her." Nathan said, burying his face in his hands.

"Oh god. Did she say it back? She must have if you're together now."

"Not at first. Her reaction was to tell me to leave and throw a pillow at me. But then…I don't know, I guess she thought about it and showed up at my door and we kissed." Nathan said, trying to spare Jake the cheesy details.

"I'm not seeing the problem," Jake said, confused.

"I guess I just feel like she doesn't know what she wants. She's gone through a lot lately, maybe she's not thinking clearly." Nathan said, admitting his worst fear.

"You're going to have to talk to her Nate. It's going to suck and it's going to be awkward as hell, but you're gonna have to."

"Ugh, I was afraid of that," Nathan replied, shaking his head.

* * *

Haley leaned against Nathan's car, waiting for him, like they'd agreed in the morning. She kept running her fingers through her hair, trying to make sure she looked at least somewhat decent. Haley started to dig through her purse, desperately searching for her compact to triple check her makeup.

"Hey Hales," she heard.

"Oh!" Haley yelped, startled. "I didn't see you coming."

"Ready to go?" Nathan asked simply.

"Uh, yeah," Haley responded, a little confused by Nathan's unfriendly greeting.

For the first few minutes, the car was engulfed with silence, which was starting to annoy Haley. "Is something wrong Nathan?"

Nathan hesitated, not sure if he should tell Haley his concerns. "I'm just uneasy I guess about our situation. Do you want this Haley?"

Haley stared at Nathan, astonished. He didn't think that she loved him. "Of course! Nathan, you're my best friend. We've basically been each others families our entire lives since our Mom's are always working. I love you. I'm in love with you Nathan. Unfortunately, it just took a bad experience for me to realize it." Haley said, stroking Nathan's arm.

When Haley finished, Nathan started to pull the car over. "What are you doing?" Haley asked, but Nathan didn't respond. "Nathan?"

Nathan got out of the car without saying a word, walking to the passenger side and opened Haley's door. He grasped the back of Haley's head and pulled her toward him, kissing her deeply with such love and passion. Nathan pulled back to examine Haley's reaction. Her eyes were still closed, as if she was still too shocked to open them. Nathan took this as an opportunity to pull her in for another kiss, one that would send a tingling sensation through his entire body.

"Wow," Haley whispered, finally opening her eyes.

"I love you," Nathan said, pushing Haley's hair out of her face.

"I love you too," Haley said, getting out of her seat to throw herself in Nathan's arms, "you have no idea how much."


	9. Here's to the Night

Nathan still couldn't shake the feeling he needed to wake up from a dream. What his life had become in such a short period of time didn't seem feasible to him. He was finally on a basketball court where people actually came to watch him, where scouts could come to watch him. Even college was in his reach now, something his mother never could have afforded. But best of all, he was in love. The "in love" part wasn't a new development; he had been in love with her for the better part of his life. The only difference now was that she loved him back.

For four years, all Nathan knew was unrequited love. Most of Nathan's dreams the past three years had consisted of what it would be like if Haley loved him too. But now that he was experiencing it, the dreams didn't even compare. For the first time in his life, reality was better than his dreams.

In a way, not a lot had changed. They still did the same things everyday, but all their usual activities had a new element to it. Instead of having a casual conversation between classes at school, they'd steal a kiss whenever they saw one another. Walking to class became a favorite activity, enjoying the opportunity to hold hands and be close to one another. When they had dinner together, something they'd done their entire friendship, they would either play footsie under the table or hold hands. Everything was just simply better.

He was standing at Haley's door, desperately wanting to delay the moment when they would say goodbye until the next day. Nathan bent down to place his head on Haley's shoulder. He turned, placing several kisses on her neck.

"Come on, Nathan. It's late, we've got school tomorrow." Haley begged, desperately trying to avoid giving into temptation.

"Hales…" Nathan said breathlessly, still kissing her.

Haley released herself from Nathan's embrace. "Seriously. We've already gone through this twice tonight, we really need to say goodbye now."

"Fine," Nathan groaned, giving in. "I love you," he said, placing one last kiss on her lips.

"I love you too," Haley said, giggling as Nathan started kissing her again. "Not fair! You struck when you knew I was weak," Haley jokingly scolded Nathan.

"And it seems like my plans working," Nathan smirked as Haley started planting kisses on his neck.

Much to Nathan's dismay, Haley suddenly pulled away. "Go," Haley demanded, "I have to get some sleep!"

"Alright, just one last kiss," Nathan replied, already leaning in.

Haley placed her hand protectively over her mouth. "No," she mumbled, "we won't stop then. I'll see you tomorrow."

Before Haley could react, Nathan quickly kissed her cheek and finally said goodnight for real.

* * *

Haley groaned deeply when she heard her alarm go off the next morning. Even though Nathan had gone home at midnight, she had gone through every moment of the night over and over in her mind, not wanting to forget any of it. Too tired to wake up just yet, Haley turned off the alarm, and fell back into a deep sleep.

* * *

"Hales," she heard whispered gently into her ear.

Haley shot up from her sleeping position. "Oh my god, what time is it?"

"7:20," Nathan replied simply.

"7:20!" Haley screamed, frantically getting out of bed.

"Calm down Haley," Nathan said, pulling Haley towards him so she would sit in his lap.

"School starts in 25 minutes Nathan! And it takes 15 minutes to get there, I will not calm down," Haley yelled, struggling to release herself from Nathan's embrace.

Nathan only tightened his grasp on her when an idea sparked in his mind. "You know, we haven't even been on a real date yet."

"I swear Nathan if you do not let me go!" Haley warned. "I don't have time to chat about going on dates. It's 7:22 now; I only have 8 freaking minutes!"

"What if today wasn't Friday? What if it was Saturday? Then we could go on a real date, and you could sleep in." Nathan smiled.

"What are you talking about Nathan?" Haley asked squirming, her eyes still fixated on the clock.

"I'm talking about skipping school."

"I don't skip school Nathan, you know that," Haley growled.

"I do. And I also know that Brooke doesn't call you tutor girl for nothing. You're smart Haley, missing one day isn't going to ruin your G.P.A, I promise."

"No. I can't." Haley said, shaking her head.

Nathan removed one of his arms from around Haley, placing his hand underneath Haley's chin and drew her in for a long, deep kiss.

"You sure Haley?" Nathan whispered seductively into her ear.

"No," she said weakly.

Haley brought Nathan's face back down to hers and started to kiss him again. Their passionate kiss felt like seconds to them but in actuality several minutes had elapsed. Haley broke apart to look at the clock, school had begun.

"Guess we're skipping school," she said.

"I'm sorry Hales," Nathan said, stroking her cheek. "I shouldn't have tried to convince you into something that is so…not you. I can still bring you to school; we'll just miss first period."

"No. I just want to stay like this all day, if that is okay."

"It's more than okay baby. There's no other way I'd want to spend my day."

Haley flashed him a smile, obviously exhausted. She grabbed his hand and pulled him back down onto her bed.

"Can we sleep for a little bit?"

"Of course," he said, stroking her hair.

Haley's body curled up against Nathan's, as he wrapped his arm around her stomach. Quickly, Haley fell back asleep. But it didn't come as easy to Nathan, because he thought back to the last time he had laid in bed like this. An image of a hysterical Haley, and the jackass Lucas flashed in his mind. Nathan hoped he would never have to see her so broken ever again.

* * *

Haley turned over, her eyes still adjusting to the light. When her eyes finally adjusted, the first thing she saw was Nathan.

"Hey beautiful," he said, pushing Haley's hair behind her ear.

"Hi," Haley replied groggily, "what time is it?"

"11, you must have been tired."

"Thanks to you," Haley said, trying to act angry.

"Aw, you know you enjoyed last night just as much as I did," Nathan laughed, snuggling closer to Haley.

Haley playfully smacked his chest, smiling.

"So, if you could do anything today, what would it be?"

"Just be with you," Haley said quietly, her cheeks flushed.

"But what do you want to do with me?" Nathan asked, searching for a more specific suggestion.

"Oh, well if we're talking dirty, then I have a whole list of ideas," Haley giggled.

"Hales…" Nathan whispered, his own cheeks reddening now.

"I'm just kidding! But honestly Nathan, all I want to do today is be with you. I just want to be in love."

"Sounds perfect," Nathan said, placing a kiss on Haley's forehead.

"You missed," she said, grabbing his shirt collar and pulling his lips into hers.

* * *

Even though Haley had said she didn't want to do anything special, Nathan still wanted to make this a day to remember.

"I'm going to go," Nathan announced out of nowhere.

"What? It's only 3 o' clock. Is something wrong?" Haley asked, completely confused.

"Nope. I just have to do something," He replied simply.

Haley looked up at him with a mix of puzzlement and pain in her eyes.

"Hales, I promise, nothing's wrong," Nathan assured her. He kissed her gently in an attempt to ease any doubts she may have. "But could you do something for me?"

"Maybe," she replied hesitantly, unsure of what she was getting herself into.

"Come to my house at 5."

"Why? What are you going to do Nathan?" Haley asked, even more suspicious.

"Will you come?"

"Well, yes…" Haley began.

"Then it's settled," Nathan interrupted. "See you at 5."

* * *

Haley had stared at her closet for a record breaking 45 minutes. She had no idea what to wear, she didn't know what the evening consisted of so it was impossible to plan an outfit. After almost an hour of intently assessing her clothing situation, she thought of a solution.

"Tutor girl!" Brooke greeted.

"Brooke, thank god!" Haley exclaimed.

"I'm always up for solving a fashion crisis! So where are you going on your date?" Brooke asked, starting to examine Haley's clothes.

"All I know is I'm supposed to be at Nathan's at 5. It might not even be anything special. But I don't know, hence I have no freaking clue what to wear!" Haley screamed, beginning to panic.

"Tutor girl, calm down! Here, go try this on," Brooke said, handing Haley a white flirty skirt and a purple laced top.

"Brooke I don't know…it's a little too "come and get it," Haley said, staring at the clothes skeptically.

"You called me because I am the fashion expert. Just go and try the damn clothes on!" Brooke demanded.

Haley did as she was told, and walked out of the bathroom when she had finished changing to let Brooke see.

"Holy…" Brooke stared at Haley in awe, "You look freaking hot tutor girl!"

"I still don't know…" Haley said, nervously wringing her hands.

"It's not up for discussion Haley! You are wearing this, at least until Nathan sees you…then it might end up on the floor, but all good!" Brooke grinned.

"Brooke!" Haley gasped, smacking her on the arm lightly.

"Hey I'm just saying!" Brooke laughed, "Now about the hair…"

* * *

After much debate, Brooke finally gave in and let Haley wear a jean jacket over her tank top. But still, knocking on Nathan's front door, in high heels and a skirt, she felt so self conscious. She just stared at her hands, waiting for Nathan to come to the door.

Haley heard the door creak open, but she couldn't bring herself to look up. She didn't want to see him laughing at her attempt to be sexy.

"Oh my…wow," was all Haley heard.

Slowly, Haley raised her head to look up at Nathan. "Uh…hi."

"You look gorgeous Haley," he declared before greeting her with a kiss.

"Oh well…thanks," Haley replied, still embarrassed by her appearance. For the first time, Haley took the time to actually look at Nathan. He looked so handsome. Much to her relief, he was dressed up too, wearing a blue button up shirt that made his eyes glow. "You don't look half bad yourself," she added after a few seconds.

"Come in," he said softly, grabbing her hand.

When she walked in the door, Haley was sure she felt her jaw drop. All the lights were off, the only light coming from candles that lined the hallway leading to the dining room. Haley could barely walk, she was in such shock, but Nathan's hand kept guiding her along. They entered the dining room, and Haley audibly gasped, clasping her hand to her mouth.

"Nathan, it's beautiful," Haley said, looking around trying to take in every little detail of the room. Candles were spread throughout the room, just like the hallway. Rose petals were sprinkled on the dining table as well. There were two placemats and already prepared dinner plates to accompany them.

Haley looked up at Nathan when she saw the meal he had prepared. "You made my favorite," she said smiling.

"Yeah, macaroni and cheese isn't exactly the most romantic food ever. But in your words it's "food of the gods," so I thought you'd like it." Nathan said, wrapping his arms around Haley's waist.

"I love it. Just like I love you." Haley said, stretching her neck to pull Nathan down into a passionate kiss.

"Haley," Nathan said, breathing heavy, "I would love to continue this…but the foods getting cold."

"You're right," Haley sighed, "But after dinner, you're all mine mister."

"No complaints here," Nathan smiled.


	10. Love and Memories

Chapter 10

"Tonight has been amazing Nathan," Haley whispered into Nathan, her fingers moving across Nathan's chest.

"These past two weeks have been amazing," Nathan whispered back.

"Could you stay the night?" Haley asked pleadingly. "Mom has the night shift again; I don't want to be alone."

"Anything for you Hales," Nathan replied, kissing the top of her head. He was a little worried about what his mom would have to say to him the next day, but he'd worry about that tomorrow. Being Haley was well worth any punishment he was handed.

* * *

Haley lay in her bed, her head resting on Nathan's chest. The room had been quiet for several minutes; they were just reveling in the moment.

"You know what this reminds me of? Lying in this bed with you?" Haley asked softly, knowing she was ruining the romance of the moment.

Nathan's thoughts flew back to several moments of their childhood where they had shared this bed; some good, some bad. "What Hales?"

"The night my dad left." Haley replied somberly. "Do you remember that night?"

"Yeah, I do," Nathan said gently, drawing Haley in closer to him.

_Nathan awoke suddenly to the sound of a constant beat on his window. Groggily, he forced himself to get out of bed. He knew who the knocking belonged to; only one person had ever shown up at his window in the middle of the night before._

"_Hey Haley," Nathan said, pulling the window open, still struggling to open his eyes._

_She didn't respond. Nathan's eyes rapidly opened when he heard the sound of her sobs. He reached for her hand, "Hales, what's wrong?"_

_Again, she said nothing. She just stared at him, like a deer in headlights, absolutely terrified. "Hold on, I'll meet you by the front door," Nathan said, sensing her desperate need of a hug._

_He greeted her at the door with a tight embrace. Haley allowed herself to cry more now, tears drenching Nathan's shoulder. "He's gone," she finally said._

_Haley didn't have to elaborate on who the "he" was. Nathan knew she was speaking of her lame excuse of a father. Though he had hardly ever been present in her life, he at least would show up once in a while, even if he was in a drunken stupor. The drunken nights were all Haley had._

"_It'll be okay Hales," Nathan said, attempting to comfort her, even though he wasn't sure the words he spoke were true._

"_My mom left. I think she went after him." The twelve year old Haley whispered. "I was scared, so I came here."_

"_I'm happy you did. Are you okay now? Should I walk you back home?"_

"_I was wondering," Haley hesitantly began, her leg twisting inward nervously, "if you would stay the night with me."_

"_Of course Haley," Nathan said grabbing her hand and leading her inside, "let me go tell me my mom."_

"_Thank you," Haley said, her tears starting again, as she kissed him gently on the cheek._

"I think that might have been the night I fell in love with you," Haley said, gazing into Nathan's eyes.

In response, Nathan pressed his lips gently against Haley's. He loved the feeling kissing Haley gave him. He felt like he was home, reminding him of a different part of that night.

_Nathan had stayed up with Haley for sometime when they arrived back at her house while she cried. Haley had buried her face in her pillow, trying to muffle her sobs. Feeling helpless, Nathan just allowed her to cry, and he stroked her hair, not knowing any other way to comfort her. Eventually, Haley turned to look at Nathan, her eyes puffy and her face stained with streaks of tears._

"_You're the only family I have now," she said._

"_I won't ever leave," Nathan promised._

_Haley simply nodded, and placed her head back on her pillow, willing herself to fall asleep._

"You're still my family," Haley said, hoping he would remember the words he had said to her that night.

"And I still won't ever leave you Hales," Nathan replied, smiling at their shared memory.

Haley looked up at Nathan, trying to fight off the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.

"Don't cry baby," Nathan softly exclaimed, wiping the tears away, "He doesn't deserve your tears Haley. He was a fool for leaving someone as wonderful as you, don't ever forget that."

Haley nodded, biting down fiercely on her lip. Nathan responded by softly kissing her mouth until she finally started to kiss back. His hand traveled through her hair and gently down her back, leaving his hand to rest on her waist.

"I love you," Nathan breathed.

"I love you too. I just keep falling more in love with you," Haley admitted softly, still emotional.

"Come here Hales," Nathan motioned, opening arms for Haley to cuddle up against his muscular body. "Just go to sleep, I'll be right here," Nathan said soothingly, his hand gently rubbing her head.


	11. Love is a Battlefield

Chapter 11

"Nathan Scott, you damn well better have an explanation to why you never came home last night," Deb bellowed, greeting her son at the door with her arms crossed.

"Uh…" Nathan stuttered, staring at the floor.

"You were at Haley's weren't you?"

"Yeah," muttered Nathan.

"Nathan! You can't sleepover at her house like you used to! Especially now that you're dating!" Deb yelled.

"We didn't do anything. She just didn't want to be alone Mom," Nathan replied, looking at his mom pleadingly.

"I believe you Nate. But you're a 17 year-old boy, I can only trust you so much."

"So…am I grounded?"

"Oh yeah! But just for the weekend," Deb smiled, "I love you."

"Thanks mom, I love you too," Nathan said, embracing his mother's tiny frame.

* * *

Nathan had charmed his mother into allowing him to call Haley to tell her he was grounded. He could convince his mom to let him do anything with just a flash of his undeniable puppy dog eyes.

Nathan's fingertips impatiently tapped on his desk waiting for Haley to pick up the phone. It had only been a little over an hour since he had left her house, but he was dying to hear her voice again.

"Hello?" Haley said, obviously annoyed with something.

"Hey Hales, it's me. Is something wrong?" Nathan asked, immediately filled with concern.

"No," Haley responded curtly.

"Are you sure? Because you can tell me…" Nathan began.

"I said nothing's wrong!" Haley yelled into the phone.

"Uh…okay. Well I just called to tell you I'm grounded." Nathan informed.

"Shocker," Haley replied sarcastically.

"Hales…baby you can talk to me," Nathan whispered vulnerably.

"God Nathan, I said nothing's wrong!" Haley growled.

"Okay," Nathan replied hesitantly. "I love you Haley."

Nathan waited for Haley to say it back, but all he heard was the sound of the dial tone.

* * *

The weekend had dragged by; Nathan was baffled to the phone conversation he shared with Haley on Saturday. It wasn't like her to be so distant.

Nathan nervously pulled up to Haley's house, picking her up for school per usual. The front door opened, but it wasn't Haley who walked through the door.

"Hi Nate," Haley's mother greeted.

"Good morning Ms. James," Nathan smiled.

"Haley left for school already," she said, her eyes filled with worry.

"Oh," Nathan said, trying to conceal his surprise, "well I guess I should get to school then. Thanks Ms. James."

"Bye Nathan," Ms. James waved, giving him a sympathetic smile.

Nathan drove off, even more nervous of what the day ahead was going to hold for him now.

* * *

He spotted her beautiful petite figure the minute he entered the hallway. Quickly, Nathan picked up his pace, unwilling to miss this opportunity to talk to her.

"Hey," Nathan said, lightly grabbing Haley's hand.

"Hi," Haley whispered, staring at the ground as she peeled Nathan's fingers off of her arm. "I have to go. Tutoring session," she said quickly, still refusing to make eye contact with Nathan, and jogged off before Nathan could say anything else.

Nathan just stood in the hall, watching the girl he loved run away from him.

* * *

Avoiding him had not been an easy task, but it was a necessary one. She didn't want to see him, she couldn't see him. Several times throughout the day, Haley could feel his glance burning through her body, but she fought the temptation to look at him. She was relieved to have a tutor session with Brooke in the afternoon, because she was running out of excuses not to talk to him.

In the middle of explaining plane geometry to Brooke, Haley heard a tapping at the window. Instinctively she turned to look, but quickly regretted the impulse when she saw the familiar face with the raven black hair.

"Aw, your boyfriend is such a sweetheart," Brooke cooed, smiling at her tutor.

"I guess. But anyways, a chord is a segment that connects…" Haley started to explain.

"Don't you want to go see him?" Brooke asked Haley confused. "I don't mind!"

"No, I'm tutoring right now, he can wait," Haley said simply.

"Is something wrong?" Brooke asked cautiously.

"I wish people would stop asking me that," Haley sighed.

"Sorry! I won't ask anything more…but tutor girl, I'm here…"

"If I need anything. I know, thanks Brooke," Haley finished.

Brooke smiled, "So what's this about a chord?"

* * *

Nathan decided he had to make one last attempt to talk to Haley. He couldn't get her off his mind, which wasn't anything new, but his thoughts were usually much more dirty and happy.

His hand shaking from nerve, Nathan quickly rang the doorbell, and shoved his hand back in his pocket. He didn't know if his heart could take another rejection from Haley today. The door creaked open, and Nathan slowly raised his head.

She stood in the doorframe with her arms wrapped protectively around herself. She was wearing sweatpants and an oversized shirt and her hair was thrown up in a messy ponytail. Her face was red, her eyes especially, fresh tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"Hi," she said, her voice quivering from crying.

"Oh baby, come here," Nathan replied, quickly wrapping his arm around her weak body.

She willingly collapsed into him, breaking down into sobs. Nathan stroked her hair and whispered loving words in her ear until she calmed down somewhat. Slowly, Haley pulled away, so that she could speak.

"Come inside. We need to talk."


	12. Tearin' Us Apart

Haley sat nervously on the couch wringing her hands. She didn't want to say the words because when she did she knew nothing would ever be the same.

"Whatever it is Hales, it's going to be okay," Nathan soothed, his hand gently rubbing her back.

"I wish that were true," Haley whispered.

"You're scaring me Haley…" Nathan said, looking at Haley anxiously.

"My mom got offered a new job."

"I don't understand. Is she still working nights? Because if that's it, I'm sure I can convince my mom to let you stay with us or something," rambled Nathan.

Haley simply shook her head, fiercely biting on her tongue to stop from crying.

"The job is in Seattle."

* * *

Nathan just stared at Haley, unable to form a reply. Haley stared up at him, her eyes filled with tears and fear.

"Seattle," Nathan repeated dumbfounded.

Haley pressed her head against Nathan's, finally allowing the tears to flow. "Seattle," she whimpered.

They sat like that for a while, Haley crying into Nathan; Nathan staring blankly into space.

Nathan broke the silence with a question he was terrified to ask. "When?"

"Two weeks," Haley mumbled.

Quickly, Nathan grabbed Haley's face and pulled her in for a kiss. Though the kiss was amazing and full of passion, Nathan felt a sense of urgency in it as well. Their kisses, as well as their days, were numbered.

"I don't want to leave. I _can't _leave you," Haley said with apparent desperation in her voice.

"We're going to figure something out," Nathan announced.

"Promise?"

"Promise. I love you Hales."

"I love you too…that's what makes this so hard," Haley said quietly.

"I know Hales, I know," Nathan comforted as Haley's tears returned.

Even though Nathan was trying to remain calm, it was only for Haley's sake. Truthfully, Nathan was in complete panic. "If Haley left" wasn't even a situation Nathan's mind could imagine.

* * *

Nathan softly shut his front door behind him, afraid of disturbing his quiet house. He was late for curfew by several hours, so he was sure his mom would be fast asleep.

"Nathan!" Deb exclaimed, rising from her seat at the kitchen table. "I'm so sorry baby!" Deb said, hugging her son, obviously already aware of the situation from her friend Lydia.

"Mom we can't let them leave. Please, we have to do something," Nathan begged.

"Honey, I wish there was something we could do, but it's not really our decision to make. Lydia is trying to make a better life for her and Haley," Deb reasoned.

"Haley's life is here," Nathan growled, "She's happy _here_."

"I know Nathan," Deb replied sympathetic, "But we have to be supportive because like I said there isn't anything we can do about it."

"We could too!" Nathan yelled, "You could let Haley live here. Or convince Lydia that Haley would be fine living on her own, she practically already does!"

"You're not being rational Nate…"

"Of course I'm not being fucking rational! My girlfriend is moving across the country! MY BEST FRIEND!"

"Stop that right now Nathan Scott," Deb commanded. "You do not ever talk to me like that! I know you're hurting, but that is no excuse to act out."

"Please Mom," Nathan pleaded, "I can't lose her."

"I already talked to Lydia," Deb admitted. "I know how much Haley means to you, I knew you would be heart broken to see her go. But Haley is all Lydia has, she's not going to give that up."

"I'm not either, not without a fight," Nathan declared, determined not to admit he would be fighting a losing battle.

* * *

"Tutor girl!" Haley heard when she answered her telephone.

"Hey tigger. Look, now isn't the best time," Haley said, not willing to go into detail.

"Exactly why I'm calling, I know just what will cheer you up! I'm having a party tonight and I'm inviting you and Mr. tutor boy!" Brooke said excitedly.

"Well that's really nice of you but…"

"I don't want to hear some lame ass excuse. You're coming and you're going to have a good time and that's that."

"Brooke…" Haley began again.

"Be at my house at 9," Brooke replied, ignoring Haley's hesitation. "See you then tutor girl!"

Brooke hung up before Haley had the opportunity to protest again. But the more Haley thought about it, she wanted to go to Brooke's. A party could be the perfect way to drown her sorrows.

* * *

Nathan walked up to the familiar door, not sure if he could handle seeing Haley so broken inside when he felt so devastated as well. Just as he was about to knock on the door, it opened.

"Nathan!" Lydia exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're here…I'm worried about Haley."

"Why? Is she still crying? Where is she? Is she in her room?" Nathan quickly asked.

"She went to a party. Haley never goes to parties…but you know that. I just don't want her using alcohol to solve her problems." Lydia explained, anxiously looking at Nathan.

"Do you know where the party was at?"

"No…but I did hear her talking to someone on the phone earlier. She called them 'tigger'."

Brooke, Nathan immediately thought to himself. "I know where to find her. I'll make sure she's okay Ms. James," Nathan assured.

* * *

The party scene was unfamiliar to Nathan. He had always been shunned as a result of being the "loser" Scott brother. Joining the Ravens had changed that, but Nathan still never went because he would much rather spend his time with Haley then get drunk.

He pushed through groups of people playing "I never" and couples making out until he saw her. Judging by her inability to stand still and her high pitch giggles she was already pretty wasted. Nathan watched from afar as Haley lost her balance and fell right on her ass, causing her to laugh hysterically.

Nathan made it to where Haley had fallen and helped her stand back up, allowing Haley to lean on him for support.

"Natey!" Haley yelled, and then plunged her tongue down his throat.

"Wow!" Nathan pushed Haley away, overwhelmed by the scent of alcohol. "How much have you drank Hales?"

"Mmm…I love it when you call me that. It's so sexy," Haley breathed, spitting on Nathan in the process.

"Come on; let's find somewhere to sit down." Nathan tried to lead Haley along by the hand, but she kept stumbling. He picked her up and carried her into Brooke's house. Nathan opened the door to a bedroom and laid Haley gently down onto the bed.

"Let me go get you some water. Stay right here," Nathan said, lovingly tucking Haley's hair behind her eyes.

When Nathan turned to walk away he felt a slap on his butt. He turned to see Haley giggling. "I like your ass," she laughed, "Let me touch it again."

Nathan shook his head, shocked by his girlfriend's drunken antics.

Quickly, he returned with a glass of water for Haley. "Drink this; you need to clear your system."

"If I drink this can I kiss youuuuuu?" Haley bargained.

"Sure," Nathan said, letting a tiny smile escape.

Haley treated the glass of water like a shot, swallowing it all in one gulp. She wasted no time after that, rapidly jumping on Nathan's lap and kissing him heavily.

"Hales…" he whispered helplessly when they broke apart for a second.

She replied by pressing her body against his, forcing him to lie down on the bed. Her lips traveled down his neck and back to his lips again. Suddenly Haley broke the bond, quickly taking off her shirt.

Nathan looked up at Haley, stunned by her actions and amazed by her body. He desperately wanted to put his hands all over it.

Haley's lips connected again with Nathan's. This time the kiss was deeper; obviously the beginning of something new and unexplored. Nathan was so entranced by the situation, he couldn't think at first. But as Haley began to pull on his shirt as well, Nathan returned to reality, and gently pushed Haley away.

"No. I don't want it to be like this and neither do you," Nathan said softly, handing Haley her shirt.

Obviously not expecting this reaction, Haley broke out into hysterics again. "You don't love me," she sobbed.

"Hales," Nathan gasped, "You know I love you. I love you more than anything. That's why I can't let this happen…you aren't thinking clearly."

"I'm sorry for wanting to be with you!" Haley screamed, beginning to sober up. "I'm in love with you Nathan! Don't you understand we don't have much time?"

"God Haley, of course I understand! It's killing me inside!"

"I have to be with you Nathan. I can't lose you," Haley whispered, staring at Nathan will tear filled eyes.

"I love you Hales," Nathan said softly, struggling to conceal his own emotional state. "I'm going to love you always and forever Haley James."

"Even if I am 3,000 miles away in Seattle?" Haley questioned.

"Even then. You could be on the moon and I'd still be crazy in love with you."

"Always and forever," Haley repeated tenderly.


	13. Yesterday Threw Everything At Me

_Hey everyone! Thanks for all the reviews, I appreciate them! And sorry for all the false hope of an update…I decided to name the chapters so it kept saying I had updated my story. Enjoy!_

* * *

Seven days. 167 hours, 26 minutes, and 14 seconds. Exactly how long until the date of Haley's inevitable move would approach. And Nathan had yet to successfully concoct a plan that allowed Haley to stay in Tree Hill.

Their time together hadn't ever been quite the same since the news. There was so much pressure to make every moment special and memorable; a moment they could think of when they were thousands of miles apart. "I love you" was said much more frequently, desperately trying to show the other they weren't giving up on their relationship.

Nathan and Haley sat silently on the couch together, wrapped in each others. Haley softly stroked the back of Nathan's neck and whispered, "Nathan?"

"Yeah Hales?"

"I'm scared of what's going to happen," she admitted.

Nathan pulled Haley in closer and tightened his grip around her shoulder. "Nothing is going to change, at least not between us. I may not get to see you or kiss you everyday like I do now, but I'll still be in love with you and only you," Nathan assured, looking at Haley directly in the eye.

"You don't know that. You could find a new, prettier Haley."

Nathan lovingly placed a kiss on Haley's forehead. "Not possible. No one could be more beautiful than you and there is not another person out there who would make me feel like you do. And that, Haley James, is a fact."

Instinctively, Haley pulled Nathan in for a long, deep kiss. "Thank you. You're making me feel better about something it's impossible to be ok about, I don't know how you do it."

"It's because I know it's going to be okay. Losing you is not an option for me," Nathan stated definitively.

"Good. Because it's going to take more than a measly number of miles to get rid of me Nathan Scott," Haley smiled.

As Haley spoke, a solution to their predicament popped into Nathan's head. He could feel a wide smile rapidly creeping on to his face. "I have to go Hales, but I promise it's for good reason," Nathan said, the broad grin still plastered onto his face. He leaned down and gave Haley a swift peck on the lips, "I'll be here at 6:30 to pick you up."

"Wait! What are you planning?" Haley asked suspiciously.

"Just be ready at 6:30. I love you," Nathan called out as the door shut behind him.

* * *

Haley evaluated herself in the mirror for the fourth time. She looked down at her lilac colored dress and sparkly silver flip flops. She checked her hair one last time, making sure every hair was perfectly curled. Haley desperately wanted everything to be perfect because she didn't know when or if she'd get to do this again. Just as she was about to second guess her whole ensemble, she heard the doorbell.

Nathan rang the doorbell and looked down at his trembling hands, hoping his nerves would disappear at the sight of Haley. But when she opened the door, the shaking dramatically increased. "W-wow," he stuttered. He gazed at her, examining every inch of her body. "Oh, these are for you," Nathan said, suddenly remembering the bouquet of flowers in his hands.

"Thanks," Haley replied, trying to focus her attention on the bouquet of purple flowers rather than her desire to rip off Nathan's shirt.

"Shall we?" Nathan asked, extending his hand, finally gaining composure.

Haley gladly took his hand, suddenly certain that the night would be perfect.

* * *

"Nathan, where on earth are you taking me?" Haley asked, confused.

"You'll see, we're almost there," Nathan assured.

"I hope so, my feet are killing me," complained Haley.

"Well I'll just have to do something about that," Nathan proclaimed, wrapping his arms around Haley and lifted her off the ground and into his arms.

Haley giggled, "God, I love you." She started placing kisses all over the accessible parts of Nathan's body.

"Sorry to interrupt you there Hales, but we're here," Nathan laughed, gently placing Haley back on the ground.

Haley's was shocked and amazed by the beauty that surrounded her. "Oh my gosh," Haley gasped. There were purple wildflowers all around them and the ocean was only a mere few feet away. "It's gorgeous here Nathan."

"Not nearly as gorgeous as you though," Nathan commented, causing Haley's cheeks to immediately redden. "I have an idea," he added, grabbing Haley's hand, "let's dance."

Haley enjoyed the feeling of being so close to Nathan's body. She was taking in his scent, wanting to remember how good he smelled. She let all her concerns and nerves about the move disappear, allowing herself to enjoy swaying with the man she loved to the sound of crashing waves.

Without warning, Nathan broke away. He lowered himself onto the sand, kneeling on one knee.

"Do you remember what you said the other night? About how it was going to take more than distance to get rid of you?" Nathan asked expectantly.

Haley simply nodded, unable to form words, and tears quickly filling in her eyes

"It made me realize something: I never want to get rid of you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You're my first love Hales, and I want you to be my last. So…" Nathan paused, taking a deep breath. "Haley James, will you marry me?"

Haley cupped her hand over her mouth, unable to believe the words her high school boyfriend had just uttered. "I don't know what to say…" Haley said slowly.

"Yes would be good," Nathan said, laughing nervously.

"Nathan…I…"

"Oh…" Nathan muttered, sadness filling his eyes. "You're saying no."

"We're seventeen Nathan! No one gets married in high school! What would my mom say?"

"She'd say okay. I talked to her." Nathan admitted, his voice quivering.

"You what?" Haley exclaimed.

_Nathan tried to center his attention on his menu rather than the conversation he was about to have. It was awkward enough asking Ms. James to lunch, especially since he refused to give her a reason._

_Ms. James finally broke the silent tension. "Would you like to tell me why we're here Nathan?"_

"_Uh…" Nathan hesitated, "Um…I'd like to ask your permission to marry your daughter."_

_Lydia choked on her water, "I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?"_

"_I would like your blessing in asking Haley to marry me."_

_Lydia closely examined Nathan's expression, trying to decipher if he was really serious. "Nathan, I know you don't want to see Haley move, but I don't think rushing in to marriage is going to solve the problem. Would you be asking Haley to marry you if we weren't moving away?"_

"_Honestly, no. Because my head would have told me we were too young and that it could wait," Nathan admitted._

"_What's it saying now?"_

"_That. But it's also screaming at me to fight for Haley, for us."_

"_And your heart?" Lydia questioned._

"_My heart has always been saying the same thing. I'm so in love with your daughter and I've always hoped I'd be lucky enough to spend the rest of my life with her."_

"I can't believe you asked for my mom's permission. And she gave you it,"

"Always and forever, Haley. I meant that. Why does it matter if forever starts today?" Nathan asked, pleadingly, still kneeling on one knee.

Haley stared through her terrified eyes into his broken ones.

"So, I'll ask one more time. Hales, will you marry me?"

"I love you Nathan, I do. But I can't marry you, not like this. You're asking for all the wrong reasons. You're asking to prevent me from leaving. And marriage isn't a solution to a problem," Haley said softly, her heart breaking as she watched Nathan's smile disappear.

"I'm asking you because I love you Haley," Nathan snarled. "You have to believe that. Please, believe that," he begged.

"I'm sorry Nathan…" Haley whispered, tears running down her cheeks, as she started to run away.

"Haley!" Nathan yelled after her, but it was no use, Haley was not turning back.

Nathan fell to the ground and buried his face in his hands, tightening his fist around the ring that was meant for Haley's left hand.


	14. Hammers and Hearts

She had to keep running. She knew that if she stopped moving she would instantly breakdown. She'd realize how she just broke her best friend's heart. She'd replay the moment over and over in her head. So she just wouldn't stop, she would just run forever.

Haley arrived at her house after running five miles non-stop. Even though it was late and she was exhausted, Haley continued to busy herself. She was determined to not think about what had just happened. She went into the kitchen and starting hurriedly packing things in boxes for the move. Haley's hands were trembling severely, but Haley continued to empty more of the cupboards. But her shaking hands got the best of her as she lost her grip on a set of china.

The sound of the breaking china was it: Haley lost it. She fell to the floor, surrounded by shards of the broken plates as well as pieces of her broken heart.

"Haley? What's going on?" A drowsy Lydia James questioned, rubbing her eyes.

"He…and I…and," Haley blubbered hysterically between her tears.

"Haley-bub it's alright," Lydia soothed, rocking her daughter in her arms.

"I'm…going...lose…him!" Haley wailed, almost incoherently.

"He loves you bub. I'm sure he'll understand, just give him time."

"I'm such a bitch," Haley said, wiping at her tears. "I love him Mom. I should have said yes! So now I'm not just a bitch, I'm a stupid bitch!"

"Bub you're hysterical! Stop saying that!" Lydia demanded.

"Yeah Hales…stop," a deep voice uttered.

Haley sniffed and wiped her wet face again before looking up to see who had entered the kitchen. "Nathan," she whispered in shock.

"Can we talk?" Nathan asked looking at the floor with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"I'll leave you two alone. I love you bub," Lydia said, placing a kiss on Haley's head.

Haley struggled to stand up, afraid to place her hands on any broken china. Nathan extended his hand to help her up, a gesture that shocked Haley.

"Want to sit on the front porch?" Haley suggested meekly.

"Okay," Nathan said simply.

They sat together on the front porch swing and swung in silence for a couple minutes.

"Nathan…" Haley began.

"I'm hurt Haley," Nathan interrupted, "I'm not going to sugar coat the fact that you broke my heart."

"That's not fair…"

"You know what's not fair Haley? It's not fair that you made me think that you were in love with me," Nathan said coldly.

"I do love you Nathan," Haley insisted.

"Maybe. But apparently not enough."

"I just don't want to rush into things Nathan. It's not about loving you enough."

"Yes it is. If you really loved me, you'd know that we would get through anything together. I would always be there for you Haley. I'm never going to stop loving you."

"I can't do this…" Haley whispered weakly, standing up from the swing. But as she was about to walk away, she felt a familiar grasp on her arm.

"I'm sorry Hales," Nathan said sincerely, "I didn't come here to make you feel bad."

"Well that's too bad, because you're doing a hell of a job!" Haley snarled.

"I came here to see if we could still be together, even when you're in Seattle," Nathan mumbled, tears welling in his eyes. "I may be hurt Haley, but I still love you. I don't want to lose you."

Haley paused, staring at the broken Nathan. "I don't think that's such a good idea Nathan…" Haley muttered.

Nathan didn't respond. He just looked at Haley in complete shock. Then, without a single word, sat up and started to walk away.

"Don't go," Haley whispered weakly, but Nathan couldn't hear.

* * *

"And then he just left," Haley said, finishing telling Brooke the events of the previous night. 

"Wow. I think we're going to need a bigger spoon," Brooke commented, referring to the spoons they were using to eat chocolate ice cream.

"I do love him Brooke. Why can't he see that?"

"Well…I mean Haley..." Brooke hesitated, afraid of hurting Haley's feelings. "It's one thing that you said no to his marriage proposal. But the fact that you said you wanted to end your relationship all together…"

"God! I am doing that for him!" Haley yelled.

"Why? That's not what he wants," Brooke pointed out.

"I want him to be happy Brooke. I don't want him missing me all the time. It's better if he just forgets about me."

"Aw, tutor girl," Brooke cooed, lovingly hugging her friend. "He'll never be able to forget about you. And you know that whether you two are dating or not he's still going to miss you all the time."

"God, I'm such an idiot," Haley screamed, burying her face in her hands. "I just keep making mistakes all over the place."

"Well it was a little bit of an overwhelming night for you," Brooke laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "You weren't thinking clearly."

"Well I can't change anything now. I broke Nathan's heart twice in one night. I can't just walk up to his house and go 'I changed my mind,' he'd slam the door in my face." Haley said.

"Maybe. Or maybe you'd have hot Notebook makeup sex!" Brooke squealed, clapping her hands.

"Brooke!" Haley yelled, her cheeks blushing.

"I'm just saying!" Brooke giggled.

Haley smiled at Brooke, and took in all of her advice for a minute. "I'm going to do it. I'm going to go talk to him!" Haley said excitedly.

"Yay! Now let's find you the perfect outfit…" Brooke said, already raiding through Haley's closet.

* * *

Nathan dragged himself out of bed when he heard the doorbell. It was 3 in the afternoon and Nathan was determined to mope in bed all day. And minus a few bathroom breaks, he had succeeded. 

Nathan opened the front door, expecting to be greeted by some annoying person that was trying to sell something. But when he saw who was actually at his door, he quickly slammed it shut. He thought he could hear a muffled "Nathan!" but he just ignored it and walked to the kitchen to make a sandwich.

As he searched through several drawers trying to locate the bread, Nathan heard a weird noise, but ignored it.

"Hey. I knew where the spare key was so…" Haley said softly, entering the kitchen.

"Guess I have to find a new hiding spot," Nathan sneered.

"I love you Nathan."

"Whatever," Nathan said, deciding to forgo the sandwich to get away from Haley.

"I want to be with you Nathan," Haley called after him. "I just said I didn't for you."

"For me?" Nathan bellowed. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I didn't want you to be tied down to someone who is 3,000 miles away Nathan. I want you to be happy and enjoy your life."

"Well great job Hales. Because of you my life's a fucking picnic," Nathan said sarcastically.

"Stop Nathan!" Haley screamed, biting hard on her lip. "Stop being so damn cruel!"

Nathan ignored her and continued to walk to his room, hoping Haley would give up, but she just followed his path. He slammed his door, though it did no good since his bedroom door had no lock.

"Please Nathan…" Haley said softly as she neared Nathan's bed. Slowly, she climbed on to the bed where Nathan was laying. She cuddled up to the stoic Nathan, and tenderly moved her hand against his hand chest.

His body immediately tensed up by her touch. He refused to be affected by her. He was not going to allow himself to believe she loved him again. But as her lips made connection with his, he lost all train of thought. It felt so good to be with her again and feel like she cared. His hand ran through her hair as their kiss grew deeper. They both desperately needed air and quickly broke apart.

"I love you," Haley said breathlessly as she began to kiss him again.

Nathan placed his hands on Haley's shoulders and pushed her off him. "Stop. I can't believe I almost fell for it again," Nathan said, running his fingers through his hair.

"Nathan, I'm not lying to you. I never lied to you. I meant it every single time I told you that I loved you."

"Go Haley. If you love me, go. Because I can't do this with you, not right now. Maybe not ever again," Nathan said somberly.

"Nathan…" Haley begged, tears escaping her eyes.

"Go," Nathan stated again.

"I'm not giving up on us Nathan. Always and forever. I'll come back to you," she announced between her tears.

Haley walked down the stairs, leaving her heart in Nathan Scott's bedroom.


	15. Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking

_ It's been exactly one month since I started writing this. I hope everyone is still enjoying it!_

* * *

"Haley, we really have to get going," Lydia said softly, placing her hand on Haley's shoulder.

"No."

"Did he say he would come to say goodbye?" Lydia questioned.

"He's coming Mom," Haley growled.

"Five minutes Haley-bub. Then we're leaving."

Haley sat down on her driveway, waiting and hoping he would come. But he never did.

"It's time Haley," Lydia whispered behind her.

Haley simply nodded, not turning around to face her mom. She didn't want her mom to see her tears, she felt bad enough about the move as it was.

Reluctantly, Haley got in the car and her mom started driving away. She gazed out the window and watched as her house and life as she knew it fade away. They were just about to turn the corner when Haley's mom stopped suddenly and pulled off to the side of the road.

"Get out of the car Bub. I think you forgot something," Lydia said.

"Huh?" Haley asked, looking at her mom in complete confusion.

"Just get out of the car Haley," Lydia smiled.

Haley looked at her mom suspiciously as she opened her door. When she turned back toward her house she saw what she forgot: Nathan Scott.

"Nathan!" Haley exclaimed excitedly. She ran towards him, jumping into his arms. "I didn't think you were going to come," she whispered.

"I almost didn't," Nathan admitted.

"Thank you for coming," Haley said, wrapping her legs around Nathan's waist to further support herself. "Does this mean…?"

"I don't know what this means Hales," Nathan replied, his fingers entangled in Haley's hair. "I just knew I couldn't let you leave without saying goodbye."

"Nathan, I want to be with you. I know we'll be miles apart, but I want to be with you."

"Let's just take it slow, okay. I don't know if I can handle anything with you right now. I'm not saying that to hurt you…I'm just saying it because it's how I feel." Nathan said, lowering Haley back onto the ground.

"Always and forever Nathan, please remember that. Someday, I hope you ask me to marry you again. And on that day, I won't be able to say yes fast enough. But no matter how much I love you now, now isn't the right time for that. Maybe you can't see it, but I can. I just wish you could understand," Haley said, staring at the concrete ground.

"I can see sort of see where you're coming from Haley. But that doesn't make it hurt any less."

"But then why can't you be with me?"

"Because I want you more than you want me. I've waited for this for a lot longer than you have," Nathan said, placing his hand gently on Haley's heart. "It's not fair to either of us to be in that kind of unbalanced relationship."

"I love you," Haley whispered weakly.

"I love you too Hales," Nathan sighed, leaning down and gently kissing Haley. "I think you have to go," Nathan said, referring to Lydia's constant beeping of her horn.

"I don't know if I can do that…" Haley muttered.

"You have to Haley. I'll miss you," Nathan said, softly brushing Haley's cheek.

"I'm going to come back to you Nathan," Haley stated definitively through her tears.

Nathan simply nodded, afraid of getting chocked up himself. "Bye Hales," he whispered as his mouth connected with hers for the finale time.

"Bye Nathan," Haley sobbed.

Nathan watched Haley walk back toward the car. He stared helplessly as the James' car and his heart drove away from Tree Hill.

* * *

Haley lugged the last box into her new bedroom and threw it on her bed. She looked around "her" room. It actually was quite similar to her room back in Tree Hill, but Haley couldn't help but feel like something was missing. She reached for a box she had specially marked. In the box was the photo album documenting Haley's entire life. When Haley packed her things, she wanted to make sure the album was easily accessible when she arrived in Seattle because she knew she'd be homesick for Nathan. 

She flipped through the pages, one picture in particular caught her eye; it was of her and Nathan on her 8th birthday. To most people this picture would seem like nothing out of the ordinary. But when Haley looked at it, she saw more than just a simple picture.

"_You can't catch me!" Haley taunted, laughing as she ran away from her best friend._

"_Oh yes I can!" Nathan yelled, closing in the gap between him and Haley._

_Haley screamed as Nathan collided with her, causing the two to fall down onto the grass._

"_Jeez Nathan!" Haley giggled._

"_I told you I could catch you," Nathan smirked, rolling over onto his back._

"_Oh whatever! You almost got beat by a girl!" _

"_Almost Hales. I won," Nathan reminded._

"_Well it's my birthday. You're supposed to let me win," _

"_I was already nice to you today. I traded you my peanut butter sandwich for your tuna."_

"_You're supposed to be nice to me all day. I'm the birthday girl!"_

"_Well I still haven't given you your present," Nathan said. _

"_Yeah! Give it to me!" Haley yelled excitedly._

"_Alright, but you have to close your eyes," Nathan instructed._

"_Okay. Do I have to count to ten?" _

"_Nope, just close your eyes." As soon as Nathan was sure Haley's eyelids were shut tightly, he slowly leaned in closer to her face, trying to make sure his lips landed on hers just right. Nathan left his lips on Haley's for a few seconds, not quite sure what to do next._

_Haley's eyes instinctively shot open when Nathan kissed her, and she pulled away. "Ew! Gross Nathan!" Haley yelled, wiping at her mouth. "Why'd you do that?"_

_Nathan simply shrugged. "That's what boyfriends do with their girlfriends."_

"_What's that?" Haley asked confused._

"_I don't know. But my cousin Jared says that all boys want a girlfriend. Do you want to be mine?" Nathan asked innocently._

"_Okay," Haley nodded. "But only if we don't kiss anymore."_

"_Deal," Nathan said, shaking his head furiously in agreement._

Haley softly traced her fingers across the picture. She smiled at the memory of her first kiss with Nathan. She went to the last page in the album and stared intently at the only picture she had of her and Nathan as a couple. It had only been three days and she yearned to be in his strong arms again and to feel his lips on hers.

She had called him when she arrived safely, but it was extremely awkward. It was odd for them to talk, knowing they were separated by 3,000 miles. When Haley called, she had planned to tell him in detail how she felt toward him, but the awkwardness had trumped her plans. She knew if she called Nathan, silence would again dominate the conversation. Suddenly, Haley came up with another, better way for her to talk to Nathan. She tore through boxes until she came upon a notebook and a pen.

_Dear Nathan…_


	16. Missing You

They were down by two. If Nathan could just make the shot, the Ravens would be in the semi-finals. The clock was ticking though, six seconds until the buzzer. With his feet just behind the three-point line, Nathan jumped and released the ball. He watched as the ball slid into the basket with grace and his team crowded around him in celebration. But as everyone grazed by him, guys patting his shoulder in appreciation and girls kissing his cheek, Nathan had never felt more alone.

The team invited him to an after party in his honor, but he declined the offer. He had no interest in being with anyone but Haley.

* * *

"Hi Mom," Nathan said warily as he entered his house.

"Nathan! I'm surprised to see you home. You played great tonight sweetie," Deb said, placing a kiss on her sounds forehead.

"I did okay," Nathan replied, shrugging his shoulders as he flipped through the mail.

"You didn't want to go celebrate with your friends?"

"What friends Mom? My only friend is 3,000 miles away," Nathan said coldly.

"You have plenty of friends Nate. What about all your teammates? They're always inviting you to their parties. You should try to get to know them," Deb encouraged.

"Haley," Nathan whispered.

"Son, I know Haley means a lot to you but…" Deb began.

"No Mom, Haley," Nathan interrupted, holding up a piece of mail. "It's from her," he said as his fingers moved along her familiar penmanship.

"Nathan!" Deb called after her son. "Promise me you won't spend all your time waiting for her. It's not healthy."

"Maybe not Mom. But it's what I'm going to do," Nathan announced as he walked towards his room.

* * *

Nathan lay on his bed for a long time, just staring at the envelope with Haley's handwriting on it, considering what the contents of the letter would be. The possibility of her breaking his heart again made opening the envelope difficult. Finally, he mustered the courage to break the seal.

_Dear Nathan,_

_This is the first letter I have ever written in my life. I guess that's only appropriate since almost I have shared almost all my firsts with you. You were my first best friend. You were the first person I had a sleepover with and you were there to hold my hair the first time I got drunk. Even better you were my first kiss, and best of all…you were my first love._

_I want to share all my lasts with you though too Nathan. I want my first best friend to be my best friend for the rest of my life. I want to have sleepovers with you every night. I want to kiss you forever and ever. _

_So someday I am going to marry you Nathan and our marriage will last always and forever. I'm just sorry that I'm not ready for that right now like you are. It broke my heart to tell you I couldn't marry you, because I would and I will. But I want to be able to look at my left hand and see a ring that stands for the love we share. I don't want to look at the ring and always question your reasons for proposing._

_I miss you terribly already Nathan. I haven't been here for more than 2 hours and my heart is already aching for you. Writing this letter is the first thing I'm doing here in Seattle, so just know that you never are not on my mind. And Nathan? Guard my heart okay? I left it with you._

_I love you Nathan Scott._

_Always and forever,_

_Haley_

Nathan closed his eyes as his fingers moved across the page, trying somehow to feel connected to Haley again. Somehow just knowing that her hand had graced this same paper was somewhat comforting to Nathan.

* * *

After mailing her letter, Haley had become annoyance to her mailman. She would stand impatiently by her mailbox, hoping that it would be the day she got a letter from Nathan.

As the mail truck approached, Haley was overwhelmed with the feeling that today would be the day.

"Anything from…"

"Not today Ms. James," the mailman interrupted. "Maybe tomorrow."

"Yeah, thanks," Haley muttered disappointed.

Haley shoved her hands in her coat pocket as she walked back up her driveway.

"Excuse me miss!" She heard a voice behind her call.

Haley turned around to see a man in a FedEx uniform with a clipboard in front of her. "Can I help you?" Haley asked confused.

"Are you Haley James?"

"Yes…" Haley replied, suspicious.

"Then yes you can. I need you to sign this." The man ordered.

"Okay. What for?" Haley asked as she signed the release forms.

"You have some deliveries?"

"Plural?" Haley yelled, flabbergasted.

"Yes," the man laughed as he walked to the truck to receive the packages. "It seems as though you've got an admirer."

First, he returned with a normal looking package addressed to her. Then he carried towards Haley a bouquet of red roses, causing Haley's jaw to drop.

"You enjoy your packages miss. Have a nice day." The FedEx man said as he walked off.

Haley searched the flowers for a card, but there was none. Hurriedly, Haley brought the package and bouquet into her house. As soon as she set the box on the table, she immediately began to rip it open. She pulled out its contents: an envelope and a sweatshirt. She immediately recognized the scent of the sweatshirt as Nathan's and buried her face in it. He had sent her his favorite sweatshirt, the one that had his mom's business advertised on the back. Eagerly she ripped upon the letter, unable to wait any longer to read his words.

_Hales,_

_Sorry for the wait. But I couldn't just send you a letter. I wanted to show you how much I still care about you. I wanted to let you know that my heart is with you. So guard mine because I'm guarding yours with my life. _

_Brooke misses you too. She actually helped with the flowers. You were right about her; she's been helping me deal as best as I can. You should call her though; I think she could use some girl talk._

_The Ravens are in the semi-finals. I guess it's cool, but it's just not the same without you here to celebrate with me. I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything. It's just the truth. Everything is less special without you here to share it with me._

_Keep writing Haley, I miss you. The hope of getting a letter from you keeps me going. _

_I'll love you always and forever._

_Nathan_


	17. Make It Work

"Bub, you have to eat something," Lydia expressed with worry.

"I'm not hungry," Haley stated simply, playing with her mashed potatoes.

"I know you've had a hard time adjusting here in Seattle, but it'll get better," Lydia assured.

"Sure Mom. I'm going to my room."

Lydia watched her daughter walk to her room and wondered if she had done the right thing.

* * *

Haley eyes were fixated on the blank page. She didn't know what to say anymore; it all hurt too much. She just couldn't forget the fact that her words wouldn't bring Nathan any closer to her, and that made it hard to write anything at all. Haley crumpled the blank paper and threw it against the wall. She buried her face into her pillows as tears began streaming down her face.

After several minutes of pure sobbing, Haley reached her hand out for the telephone.

"Brooke," Haley breathed into the phone.

"Tutor girl! It's so good to hear your voice! But what's wrong?" Brooke said, immediately noticing Haley's weakened voice.

"I love him."

"That's a good thing! It'll work out Haley, true love always finds its way," Brooke promised.

"Why didn't I marry him? Why Brooke?" Haley exclaimed, obviously on the verge of hysterics.

"Breathe Haley!" Brooke commanded. "Just breathe."

"I can't! I'm losing him! I feel it! I don't know what to do!"

"Listen to me! You are not losing him Haley. He's waiting for you. So damn it, breathe," Brooke demanded again.

Finally exhaling, Haley said, "I want to be strong. I want to believe in us; in true love. But I can't Brooke. I thought I could, but I don't think I'm strong enough."

"No. You can't give up tutor girl. You're my friend, but you can't break Nathan again. Not to mention it's going to break your heart too," Brooke said sternly.

"It's too hard..." Haley said weakly.

"Of course it's hard! Love is an amazing thing, something that not everyone gets a chance to experience. That's why true love is so damn hard to come by; if it was easy everyone would be in love and it wouldn't be special anymore. Love is worth the fight Haley, you can't give up."

"It just hurts Brooke," Haley replied.

"I know, I know," Brooke comforted. "He's hurting too. But just believe."

"Thank you," Haley said genuinely.

"Anytime, I miss you tutor girl," Brooke confessed.

"I miss you too. It sucks that just when we got to be friends, I had to move across the country. But I'll call you again soon, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan," Brooke smiled. "And Haley?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you're hurting, but just don't forget how lucky you are, okay?"

"I won't," Haley assured, smiling into the phone. "Bye Brooke."

* * *

"You're smiling," Lydia noted as her daughter entered the kitchen.

"Yup," Haley said as she opened the refrigerator door.

"And you're eating?" Lydia asked shock. "What happened?"

"I guess I just forgot to believe for awhile, that's all," Haley said, giving her mom a authentic grin.

"Well it's sure nice to see your smile. I've missed it."

"Me too," Haley agreed.

"I have something for you," Lydia announced, handing an envelope to Haley.

Haley's face lit up even more when she saw the letter from Nathan. As Lydia watched her daughter's reaction though, she grew concerned again.

"I need you to promise me something Haley," Lydia said with a serious tone.

"What Mom?" Haley asked, her face contorted from confusion.

"Promise me that whatever is in that letter, you won't let that smile of yours disappear."

"I promise Mom," Haley replied, extending her hand out to her mother's and squeezing it lovingly.

"One other thing Bub. Give Seattle a chance, maybe you can make new friends here," Lydia added.

"Okay Mom, but I won't forget about my old ones either," Haley said, nodding towards the envelope.

"Fair enough," Lydia agreed.

Haley gave her mom one last reassuring smile before rushing to her room to read the latest letter.

She plopped onto her bead and quickly tore open the envelope.

_Hales,_

_I miss you. Where have you been? It's been awhile since I've gotten a letter from you. I hope everything is alright. I've thought about calling you, but I know we agreed it's too hard. I just really want to hear the sound of your voice again. Looking at the pictures you send and seeing your handwriting help me feel closer to you, but sometimes it isn't enough. I want to hear your beautiful voice again or hear you breathe. Or your lack of breath when you're kissing me. _

Haley laughed out loud seeing Nathan's cocky attitude on paper. She couldn't believe she actually had missed his annoying self confidence.

_It's hard writing you sometimes. I worry maybe you've stopped writing for that same reason. If that's true…well, just please don't let that be true Haley. I need you. I need you so bad, you're my world. I promise you I'm not going to stop believing in us, so just keep fighting for us Hales. I'm not strong enough to fight for us alone. You have to try too. _

_Please write soon. Even if all you can say is "I love you," that will be enough. I just need to know that you still care._

_I love you baby._

_Always and forever,_

_Nathan_

Haley grinned; amazed by Nathan's ability to know what she was thinking even when they were thousands of miles apart. She hardly gave breaking their agreement as she quickly dialed his number.

"Hello?"

Haley felt her entire heart fill with happiness at the sound of his voice. She hadn't felt so complete since their goodbye. Haley simply breathed in to the phone, hoping he would recognize her breath.

"Oh my god. Haley is that you?" Nathan whispered hopefully.

"It's me Nathan!" Haley screamed excitedly into her telephone.

"It's so good to hear your voice. I feel like you're so close to me," Nathan said.

"I'm sorry Nathan. I'm sorry for not writing for awhile," Haley apologized, regret filling her voice.

"It's okay Hales, I understand. It's hard for me too," Nathan soothed.

Haley's emotions started to overwhelm her. "I love you," Haley said, her voice cracking.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here," Nathan said, his fingers stroking the phone as if it was Haley.

Haley nodded into her receiver even though she knew Nathan couldn't see.

"We're going to survive this Hales, I promise you. I'm not going to give up and I'm not going to let you either," Nathan said determined.

"Good, because I don't want to give up Nathan" Haley assured.

"Then we'll be fine. We'll be okay," Nathan repeated, trying his best to convince himself that it was true.

"We'll be okay," Haley reiterated, even though she was completely unsure of what the future held for their relationship.


	18. Walking With A Ghost

Despite the promises of a lasting relationship, the distance between Nathan and Haley only grew. The letters kept arriving, signed with reminders of love, but it wasn't making them happy anymore. As much as they tried, neither could be what the other person needed when they were 3,000 miles apart.

"Sorry for calling, I know it's late there."

"That's okay, we need to talk," Nathan admitted.

"Yeah, we do…" Haley said the hesitation apparent in her voice.

"I need you to know that I love you Hales. That hasn't changed in these couple months. If anything, my belief in my love for you has only grown."

"I know," she assured.

"But…" Nathan paused.

"It's okay Nathan. I think we should too," Haley whispered.

Nathan breathed into the receiver, unsure of how to say goodbye. "Promise you'll come back to me Haley. It's okay if that day isn't tomorrow or even a couple months from now…I just can't…" Nathan voice broke the vulnerability in his heart apparent in his tone. "I just can't say goodbye if I know its goodbye forever."

"I promise," Haley sobbed into the phone, tears streaming down her face.

"Always…" Nathan began with a whisper.

"And forever," Haley finished for him, and gently hung the phone up.

* * *

Haley woke up the next morning completely unsure of everything. She had yet to really attempt to make a new life for herself in Seattle. The only person she would remotely consider a friend was a girl she met in her A.P English class, Peyton. Peyton had invited her out several times, but Haley had never had any real interest. She viewed Seattle as a temporary thing, so she figured there was no use making attachments.

But things change. At one time she had also believed that once she earned Nathan's forgiveness, nothing would ever come between them again. But she was wrong. After her breakup with Nathan, even if it was only temporary, Haley didn't know what to do anymore. There had never been a time in her life that she could remember where Nathan wasn't the focal point.

It occurred to Haley that maybe that was the point of all of this heartbreak. Haley had never really lived a life without Nathan, so maybe in order to fully appreciate him she needed to have other experiences, whatever that meant.

With her new outlook on life and sudden surge of self-confidence, Haley dialed a number into her cell phone.

"Peyton? It's Haley. I was just wondering if there are any good parties going on tonight," Haley said, a smile slowly creeping onto her face.

* * *

Nathan felt like an idiot. He tried to think of another word, one that was less insulting to cushion his ego, but all he could think of was "idiot." He willingly let her go. Hell, _he_ was the one to suggest it.

At the same time, Nathan couldn't deny that thing weren't working the way they were. He missed seeing Haley's adorable tendencies everyday, like the way her cheeks flushed each time he told her he loved her and the way she never stopped being hungry. He missed the way he held her after a bad day and he longed to feel her fingers run through his hair again. He wanted the reassurance of a kiss after a fight and the happiness her presence gave him. But Nathan couldn't have any of that with Haley across the country.

So they broke up.

Nathan thought he'd feel better afterwards. He knew he would hardly be jumping for joy, but at the same time he thought there would at least be some sense of relief. But he felt nothing. It was as if he didn't have the capacity to feel anything more; he just felt empty. And Nathan could think of only one thing that would get rid of that feeling.

"Tim? It's Nate. Hear about any good parties tonight?" Nathan stated, staring blankly ahead.

* * *

"I'm so glad you decided to come out tonight Haley. I think you'll like all my friends," Peyton said as they made their way toward the party.

Haley assured Peyton she was glad too with a smile. "Here goes nothing," Haley whispered to herself as Peyton turned the knob of the front door.

As soon as the door flew open, Haley knew she was bound to have an interesting night. She had never been to a party, at least a part with alcohol, in Tree Hill. It was barely even 10 and the floor was already scattered with beer cups and there was hardly a sober teenager in the place.

"Did I mention how hard they like to party?" Peyton said laughing at Haley's astonished expression.

Haley quickly tried to regain composure, not wanting to be deemed boring "Tutor girl" in Seattle too.

"Let's get the real party started," Haley said, sauntering over towards the keg surrounded by several guys. "Hey guys," Haley greeted seductively.

Each of the guys immediately focused their attention on Haley, wasting no time checking her out. Haley definitely had chosen a sexy outfit, but she had been careful to avoid the slutty section of her wardrobe because Haley knew that Nathan wouldn't be there to save her if something went wrong tonight.

"Hey, I'm Alex," the tallest one replied, extending his hand towards Haley.

"I'm Haley," she said shaking his hand. The more Haley looked at Alex, the more of Nathan she saw in him. They both were obviously athletes according to their tall, muscular bodies. Haley also couldn't help but notice that Alex shared Nathan's smirk and piercing blue eyes.

"Nice to meet you Haley," Alex said, bring Haley back to reality. "Can I get you a drink?"

Haley nodded, thankful for anything could possibly allow her to loosen up and get her mind away from Nathan. Alex handed Haley a beer and led her towards the nearest available couch.

"So Haley, how come I've never seen you around before?" Alex asked leaning in closer towards Haley.

Haley merely stated, "I'm new."

Alex laughed at Haley's simplistic answer. Even his laugh reminded Haley of Nathan, it was really eerie. "Did you live in this area before or did you just move here?" Alex questioned, seeming genuinely interested.

"Oh. I'm from North Carolina," Haley replied, embarrassed by her failure to embellish the obvious "I'm new" reply.

"A southern gal," Alex said thoughtfully. "I guess you might out charm me then, huh?"

"I don't know. You seem pretty charming," Haley answered, attempting to sound flirtatious.

"In that case, would you like to dance Haley?" Alex asked, already rising from the couch in anticipation of her answer.

The response that Haley instinctively formulated in her mind was "Sorry, but I have a boyfriend." But Haley quickly remembered that no longer was the case. "Sure," Haley replied, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.

It felt so weird with someone's hands other than Nathan's on her body. It felt wrong. But Haley pushed her hesitations aside and swayed to the romantic song with Alex. But when the slow song drowned out, an upbeat song replaced it. But Alex didn't release Haley from his grip; he only pulled her in closer. Haley moved her body along with Alex's to the beat of the music, but as soon as the song ended Haley willingly took the opportunity to avoid further awkward dances.

"Want to go somewhere else?" Haley suggested innocently.

"Sure," Alex replied, Nathan's smirk creeping on his face.

Haley grabbed his hand and followed him as he led her to a room she hadn't been too. But when Alex opened the door, Haley was surprised to see it was a bedroom. Alex closed the door behind them, locking the door, causing Haley's heartbeat to dramatically increase.

"Much better," Alex announced, slowly approaching Haley. Alex stopped so his face was only inches from Haley and wasted no time connecting his lips with hers.

As wrong as it felt, kissing Alex felt so good at the same time. She missed the feeling of being this close to someone, like you're the only thing on the other person's mind. Haley drowned herself in their kiss, imagining that the lips against hers belonged to Nathan as she fell down onto the bed. Alex broke apart from Haley momentarily to remove his shirt, revealing to Haley an extremely toned stomach. Unashamed, Haley placed her hands on it and traced the muscles with her fingers, much like she had done with Nathan. Alex eagerly took the moment as an opportunity to remove Haley's shirt as well, and Haley surprisingly obliged. Alex took his turn then to explore Haley's stomach and chest, something not even Nathan had done. As Haley felt Alex began to play with the clasp on her bra, she suddenly snapped back into reality. But instead of yelling stop like a sane person, Haley simply began to weep uncontrollably.

"Um…did I do something wrong?" Alex asked, confused.

"You're….you're…" Haley's sobs grew more frequent and louder, making it difficult to speak.

"You're….you're NOT NATHAN!" Haley screamed hysterically.

Embarrassed and uncomfortable, Alex quickly put his shirt back on and handed Haley's to her.

"Um…are you going to be okay?" Alex asked, inching towards the door.

"No," Haley whispered, her cries slowly softening.

Feeling less terrified as Haley's mood started returning to normal, Alex took it is as a sign he could approach Haley again. Nervously, he placed a hand on her back in an effort to calm her down. "Uh…you're going to be okay. This Nathan guy…he's uh…he's an idiot," Alex said uncomfortably.

"I'm not idiot," Haley said, furiously wiping at her cheeks. "But you can go. I've embarrassed both of us for one night I think."

"Do you have a way home?" Alex asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, but thanks," Haley replied, allowing a small smile to creep on to her lips.

Alex nodded and made his way toward the door. Before leaving though, he turned around to face Haley once again. "I really do think this Nathan guy is a loser though. You seem like a great girl Haley. Let me know if your heart becomes available," Alex smiled, closing the door behind him.

Haley fell back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering what her life had become.


	19. Where We Went Wrong

"Where's the beer?" Nathan asked immediately to no one in particular as he approached the bonfire at the beach.

"Missing your girlfriend?" A deep voice taunted.

Nathan whipped his head around to confront the guy and saw none other than Lucas Scott.

"Go to hell," Nathan bellowed.

"Whatever bitch," Lucas replied, pushing Nathan away from him, causing Nathan to react by throwing a fierce punch in his direction. The two brothers began throwing constant punches at each other, until out of nowhere someone soaked both of them with beer, causing the shocked brothers to stop fighting.

"God, you two are annoying!" Brooke Davis exclaimed, triumphantly holding two empty cans of beer.

"What the hell Brooke? Couldn't you have just thrown it at him?" Nathan yelled, glaring at her.

"No! Both of you are immature idiots!" Brooke screamed with frustration. "Now, can I leave you two unsupervised or do I have to stand here and further waste my Saturday night?"

Neither Nathan nor Lucas said anything; they just looked at the ground, a little terrified of this new side of Brooke Davis.

"Perfect, let's have some fun!" Brooke shouted, plastering a smile on her face.

Nathan wasn't exactly sure "fun" was in his future, but he definitely planned on doing anything that would allow him to forget about Haley.

* * *

Haley searched frantically for Peyton; she had to get out of this party. She just needed to be alone with her thoughts, Haley had more than enough socializing for one night. Finally, Haley spotted the curly blonde girl across the room.

Haley tapped her on the shoulder, "Peyton? Could you take me home?"

"HALEY! HI!" Peyton screamed at the top of her lungs, the scent of alcohol escaping her mouth.

"Wow, um…I guess I'll just have to call my mom" Haley said.

"OKAY! BYE BYE!" Peyton smiled, fervently waving goodbye.

Haley dug her cell phone out of her purse and dialed her house number. The only greeting Haley received however was from her own voice on the answering machine. "Damn it," Haley muttered to herself.

"Need a lift?" A deep voice asked casually.

* * *

"Hey, aren't you Nathan Scott?" A tall brunette asked.

"That's me," Nathan responded, flashing the famous Scott smirk.

"You seem like you're looking for a good time Scott," the girl said seductively.

"Maybe I am. Got any ideas?" Nathan flirted back. There was no denying the brunettes beauty, her brown locks framed her face perfectly and her green eyes sparkled. But the best part about her in Nathan's eyes was the fact that she looked nothing like Haley. This girl was extremely tall, unlike Haley who had to go on her tiptoes to kiss Nathan even with heals on. This girl was exactly what he was looking for.

"Just one," the girl smiled, grabbing Nathan's hand and leading him towards the beach house.

They entered the house and the girl headed directly toward the nearest bedroom.

"I think I like your idea," Nathan laughed.

"I'm glad baby," the girl cooed before attacking Nathan's lips with her own.

She quickly led Nathan towards the bed, causing Nathan to break the connection and hesitate for a moment.

"I need beer," Nathan announced out of the blue, hoping some alcohol would loosen him up.

"I'll get you one," the girl offered and Nathan nodded in appreciation.

* * *

"Need a lift?" Alex asked knowingly.

"You don't have to do that," Haley assured.

"I do. I feel like a jerk. Let me bring you home," Alex insisted.

"If you're sure it's no problem…" Haley hesitated.

"Not at all, my car is right outside," Alex smile and motioned for Haley to follow him.

Alex guided Haley towards his car and opened the car door for her. Haley flashed an awkward smile and settled into the car. After providing Alex with directions to her house, silence fell upon the car.

"So…do you play any sports?" Haley asked, desperate for the awkwardness to evaporate.

"Football," Alex announced proudly. "I love it."

Haley couldn't help but feel a sense of relief by Alex's answer. If he had said basketball, she may have had another emotional breakdown.

"How about you? I don't exactly peg you as a cheerleader," Alex replied.

"Yeah, far from it," Haley laughed. "But I don't play any sports. I'm really into academics though. My friend back home calls me 'tutor girl,'" Haley said, shocked she was comfortable enough to admit her embarrassing nickname.

"That's cute," Alex said genuinely, causing Haley to blush a little.

The conversation drowned out quickly after that, but luckily by that point they were in close proximity to Haley's house.

"Thanks a lot for bringing me home Alex," Haley smiled as they turned on to her street.

"Like I said, it was no problem at all."

"And listen…I'm really sorry about tonight. I swear I'm not always so psychotic," Haley said, attempting to make light of the extremely awkward situation.

"Haley, it's okay. I feel like a horny asshole, but it's okay," laughed Alex.

"Well maybe I'll see you around. Thanks again," Haley said as she got out of the car.

"Anytime. It was nice to meet you Haley," Alex said with a wave before backing out of Haley's driveway.

* * *

The girl returned, handing the beer to Nathan who practically swallowed the entire can in one gulp.

"Where were we?" Nathan grinned.

"I think it was right about here," the girl said as she stripped down to her underwear and laid on the bed.

This time it was Nathan who made the first move as he hungrily attached his lips to the nameless girl. Though Nathan was not attracted to the girl at all, his lips still quickly traveled to other parts of her body. All his instincts were telling him to stop, screaming at him how much this would hurt Haley, but he pushed them aside. Haley had hurt him plenty without a second thought, so Nathan thought he had earned the right to do the same. He just wanted to forget. He wanted to get so lost in something, anything, that he would forget her name and their history.

The girl reached for Nathan's belt and started playing with the buckle when the bedroom door swung open.

"Hey, just thought you'd want to know that the police….oh my god! NATHAN?!" The girl who had entered the bedroom screamed loudly.

"BROOKE!" Nathan yelled, embarrassed and ashamed.

Brooke just stood in the doorway of the bedroom, her jaw constant in its dropped position, as Nathan and the girl hurriedly dressed themselves.

"The police are on their way. I thought whoever was in here would like to know," Brooke stated emotionlessly as she finally regained the strength to walk away.

"Brooke! Wait!" Nathan called after her. He ran out of the room as he threw his shirt back on calling her name.

When he drew closer to her, Brooke violently whipped around to face him. "How does it feel to be an even bigger ass than your brother Nathan?" Brooke said her glare so intense it was practically burning through Nathan.

"Brooke…please," Nathan started to beg.

"Don't you fucking dare ask me not to tell Haley. She loves you Nathan! I don't care if you guys broke up…you know perfectly well that something like that is only temporary with you two! You two are meant to be together! God, two months ago you asked her to be your _wife _Nathan! Doesn't that mean anything to you? Just because things aren't perfect right now, that doesn't give you the right to sleep with some whore!" Brooke rambled viciously.

"She wasn't a whore! You don't even know her!" Nathan screamed defensively.

"Neither do you! Tell me her name Nathan," Brooke demanded.

Nathan's eyes dropped to the ground in embarrassment. "I said, tell me her name Nathan," Brooke growled.

"I can't," Nathan admitted softly.

"I thought you were better than this Nathan," Brooke shook her head in disappointment. "I thought you believed in true love, in you and Haley."

"I just wanted to forget. I wanted to forget the pain for a night, can't you understand?" Nathan pleaded.

"I can understand that Nathan. But I can't even begin to comprehend how _you_ don't understand how much you having sex with that girl would have hurt Haley. Or hell, how much you _almost _having sex is _going_ to hurt Haley."

"Well maybe it will be good for Haley to hurt for a change. Because I know I'm fucking sick of being the one that gets hurt," Nathan replied, anger starting to boil inside him.

"Then I guess congratulations are in order. You've hurt Haley more than she's hurt you. You've won," Brooke spat bitterly.

Nathan watched Brooke stomp away, wondering when his life became so similar to Lucas Scott's. Nathan had always prided himself on being the better man, despite his lack of a father figure. But now, he was the asshole who likely just broke his best friend's heart on purpose.


	20. When It All Falls Apart

Haley woke up the following morning to the sound of her cell phone ringing. Groggily, Haley rolled over and answered the phone.

"Hello?" Haley mumbled.

"Hey Haley, did I wake you?" Brooke asked unusually sweetly.

"It's fine, I should be getting up anyways. What's up?"

"I need to tell you something…" Brooke said slowly, trying to decide if she was doing the right thing.

"You can tell me anything Brooke," Haley assured.

"Alright. Well last night…" Brooke began.

"Crap," Haley interrupted. "Nathan's calling on the other line. Can I call you back? I really need to talk to him." Haley's interaction with Alex had made her reconsider their recent breakup.

"I don't think that's such a good idea Haley…" Brooke protested.

"I'll call you back!" Haley promised.

Haley hit the accept key on her phone, "Hey Nathan!"

"Hey," Nathan replied somberly.

"What's wrong?" Haley questioned.

"I need to tell you something," Nathan said, regret evident in his voice.

Haley's heart started to beat at a rapid pace. Brooke had just said the same thing and her news had sounded as bad as Nathan's. "What?" Haley whispered into the phone, terrified of Nathan's coming reply.

"I just wanted to say I miss you," Nathan blurted. He had called to tell Haley about the previous night, he thought she should hear it from him, but he just didn't have it in him to break her heart like that. Nathan would just have to hope Brooke would feel the same and want to spare her best friend any pain.

"Oh, okay," Haley replied, suddenly perking up. "I miss you too Nathan."

"Well, I'll let you go," Nathan replied, desperate to end the conversation.

"Wait!" Haley protested. "I love you Nathan."

"I know," Nathan responded, feeling too guilty to repeat the sentiment.

Haley breathed into the phone waiting for Nathan to proclaim his love for her too. "Nathan…?" Haley questioned. "Do you not love me anymore?" Haley asked, the pain the asking such a question evident in her voice.

"Haley," Nathan whined. "Can we not do this?" Nathan asked, not wanting to admit to Haley the real reason behind his avoidance of the three words.

"Oh my god," Haley whispered slowly, "You don't love me anymore."

"No Haley, that's not it…" Nathan objected.

"Then what is it Nathan? Why are you acting so damn weird?" Haley asked, practically screaming into the phone.

For a brief moment, Nathan considered telling Haley the truth. Instead he simply replied, "Don't worry about it."

"Sure, I'll just forget this conversation ever happened," Haley said sarcastically.

"Hales…"

"Don't. Please don't call me that," Haley whispered vulnerably.

"Just…please know I never meant to hurt you Haley. I was angry and upset, I wasn't thinking clearly," Nathan said, prefacing his upcoming confession.

"You're scaring me," Haley admitted

"I was with a girl last night," Nathan whispered quickly.

"What does that mean?" Haley asked, her voice trembling.

"Brooke saw. I wanted to be the one to tell you," Nathan continued.

"Don't avoid my question Nathan," Haley growled. "What does that mean?"

"Haley…" Nathan whined.

"Tell me Nathan!" Haley demanded.

"Brooke walked in before we went too far," Nathan replied sullenly, praying Haley wouldn't ask for more details.

Nathan then heard a faint "Oh my god," which was quickly followed by the ringing of the dial tone.

* * *

In her heart, Haley knew it wasn't fair for her to be so furious with Nathan. She had found herself in the exact same position as well the previous night. Granted, she didn't have to have someone walk in her to make her stop before going too far, but still.

After angrily hanging up with Nathan, Haley had considered calling back and admitting to her own mistakes, but she just couldn't bring herself to dial Nathan's number. It made life so much simpler for her when she was fighting with Nathan because it made her heart ache a little less for him. So instead, Haley called the only person who might have any idea of what to do.

"Tutor girl! Are you okay? I talked to Nathan; he told me that he told you. Do you want me to use my credit card and fly to see you? I can bring gallons of Ben and Jerry's, whatever flavor you want!" Brooke rambled.

"Brooke, slow down. It's okay, I'm okay."

"You don't have to lie to me Haley; it is okay to be upset," Brooke assured.

"I almost had sex last night," Haley confessed suddenly.

Brooke paused for a long time before responding. "I'm sorry, you WHAT?" She screamed into the phone.

"I almost had sex." Haley repeated.

"Usually I would be begging for details about who, when, and where, but I can't even believe I'm hearing this."

"It just happened, I got caught up; I met this guy and he reminded me so much of Nathan. I just wanted to fill the space in my heart where Nathan used to be Brooke. I didn't want to miss him anymore," Haley explained, biting her lip violently to avoid another emotional breakdown.

"You didn't tell Nathan about this, did you?" Brooke questioned.

"I couldn't. I've already hurt him more than he deserves," Haley replied.

"Well keeping this secret from him is going to hurt him too Haley. He's feeling guilty for something that you did too; that's not fair. You both need to stop moping around all the time and start fighting for each other. What you guys have is more than worth the struggle."

"You're right. But so much has happened in these last few months, I don't even know where to begin," Haley responded.

"Why don't you start with the truth?"


	21. Return to Me

**FINALLY!! I have finally finished this story. I want to thank you guys so much for reading, especially with such a prolonged ending. I always get frustrated when a writer takes forever to finish a fanfic and so I'm sorry I was one of those! I hope the ending was worth the wait though!**

* * *

It had felt so good to finally be wrapped in his arms again. The touch had been so electric that she could still feel it now. She had almost forgotten what such intense chemistry felt like.

But it had only been a dream. Haley traced her arms with her own fingers, still keeping her eyes closed, trying to remember the touch one more. Tears began to form in her eyes as Haley desperately tried to hold onto a memory of a person she had repeatedly tried to remove from her life.

* * *

As much as Haley knew Brooke was right about having to tell Nathan the truth, Haley could not bring herself to admit what had almost occurred between her and Alex. She didn't have it in her to break Nathan's heart again. And even though he had hurt her by almost sleeping with someone else, Haley knew in her heart that Nathan didn't mean to; he was just dealing with life the only way he knew how.

But Haley didn't know what she had been thinking that night with Alex. It was so unlike her to act irrationally. She just kept making mistakes and had no idea how to fix them. She was the one who stupidly went out with Lucas in a slutty outfit, she was the one to cry and throw Nathan out of her house when he said "I love you," she denied his marriage proposal, and she had suggested they break up because of the move…_twice_. What right did she have to cry over Nathan? How could she call him and hurt him _again_?

Only a few months ago, Nathan had been her best friend. Life was so much less complicated and easier. But when Haley thought about her life before Nathan had proclaimed his true feelings toward her, it seemed meaningless now. Their friendship had always been destined to grow into something more.

As Haley sat there, reflecting on her relationship with Nathan, she realized something: there was a reason Nathan had been the only constant figure in her life other than her mom. There was a reason that the first time she actually felt complete was also the first time Nathan had said "I love you" to her. But Haley was finally recognizing that despite the hundreds of reasons there had been to be with Nathan, all she had been able to think of was the one reason not to.

It was only now, however, that Haley finally understood how insignificant that reason truly was.

* * *

Though he was ashamed of it, Nathan had privately wished numerous times that he could show Haley the type of hurt she had made him endure.

But now Nathan could not recall how he could have ever felt that way. He would rather be hurt a thousand times over by Haley than to ever have to hear such pain in her voice again. Knowing he caused the person he loved most in the world any kind of turmoil was the most heart-wrenching pain there was.

And even though Nathan desperately wished he could take it all back, part of him wondered if it was for the best. From the start it seemed as though the world was determined to tear him and Haley apart. At what point are you supposed to stop fighting? How are you supposed to know when your love is real? And even if you do believe in the love you have for someone, what do you do if the person you are in love with isn't strong enough to believe in it too?

* * *

It felt like forever ago when she had last stood on this door step. She extended her hand to the button and heard the familiar chime in response. Her nerve grew exponentially as she heard someone on the other side of the door fussing with the lock. Instinctively, her teeth locked down on her lip as she came finally came face to face with Nathan.

"Haley!" Nathan exclaimed, the shock on his face undeniable. "…How?"

"I took the first flight out of Seattle," I responded quickly.

Nathan opened his arms to embrace Haley and she gladly pressed her small frame against his large one. "It's so good to see you," he breathed into her hair, taking in her scent at the same time. Haley could only nod her head against her chest, knowing she would break down into tears the moment she opened her mouth.

"But," Nathan continued, "why are you here? I don't deserve this, not after what I did. Not after how I hurt you. Unless you're just here to kick my ass in person…which would be completely understandable of course but…"

"Nathan," Haley said, finally gaining composure, "stop rambling."

"Sorry," Nathan replied, allowing the slightest smile to creep on his face.

"I'm here because I needed to stop running the truth," Haley stated simply.

"The truth?" Nathan questioned, confused.

"Can we go inside and talk for a bit?" Haley suggested nervously. Nathan simply nodded in response as he led Haley by the hand into his house.

* * *

"I'm so sorry Nathan. I'm sorry for what I did and I'm sorry for not admitting it right away. I'm especially sorry for getting mad at you for something that I did too."

Nathan grasped his hair with his hands, overwhelmed by all the information Haley had just divulged to him. He didn't know whether to feel angry, jealous, or hurt. He just sat there, staring blankly at the wall ahead of him, hoping an answer would magically appear.

"Nathan, we've both made mistakes," Haley said quietly, "But you want to know the one thing we got right?"

Nathan broke from his trance and moved his eyes to look directly at Haley.

"This," Haley said, placing her hand on Nathan's heart as she attached her lips to his at the same time. "I love you Nathan, I always have. But for the first time, I'm not scared of it."

Wasting no time, Nathan quickly reconnected their lips. For the first time neither Haley nor Nathan had any question to where they belonged. They belong together, through the good and the bad, and nothing else matters.


End file.
